Bad blood
by imstormborn
Summary: In the Roaring Twenties the Mikaelsons family is one of the most important criminal families of New Orleans. Esther Salvatore - daughter of a Sicilian mafia's boss - has married Mikael Mikaelson, who has the control over the city. To guarantee safety to his family Mikael kidnaps Caroline Forbes, the daughter of a famous detective, in order to make her marry one of his sons.
1. I chapter

**Bad blood - **_1st chapter_

The orders their father had given them were clear: Niklaus, Elijah and Kol had to kidnap a girl and bring her to him without hurting her. The three brothers didn't know much about the hostage, they had just seen a picture of her taken from a newspaper. They knew she was the daughter of the most famous detective of New Orleans, they also knew her name: Caroline Forbes. She was young, blonde and of an exquisite beauty. Hearing his father's demand Elijah had hesitated, one of the rules of the Mafia was to be respectful towards women, to kidnap an innocent girl meant to break that rule. However, another rule was to follow the orders from the superiors, so he couldn't refuse. He was the oldest brother, the noble one, the only one who completed his studies, getting a law degree. Yes, he was a lawyer and a member of the most dangerous family of the city. Niklaus was the second born son, a mad, impulsive and manipulator man. He was incapable to love somebody except for his little sister Rebekah, the only girl of the family. Kol was the younger brother and Niklaus was his role model. It was a beautiful sunny day of the Spring 1920 when the three of them got in their black car to follow closely and secretly Caroline. She wasn't just an ordinary girl, she was an aspiring stylist active in feminist causes. She loved Coco Chanel and Vogue was her favorite magazine, she always had a copy in her beg. When the black car pulled over near a crowded street of Nola Elijah, who was driving, gave a glance to his brother Niklaus. They didn't lost the girl, she was walking alone after the lunch she had with a friend. Her blonde hair was visible from the rear view mirror.

« Now, brother. » Elijah said in a calm tone. Niklaus got down the car and Kol did the same, the youngest brother stayed next to the open door, the older one walked through the crow of people until he crashed against Caroline on purpose.

« Hey! » The girl complained frowning at him. Klaus pulled out his gun and he kept it hidden in his hand.

« Goodmorning, love. » He said, smiling arrogantly.

« Sorry, what? » She asked. She couldn't believe that stranger had just talked to her like they knew each other. When Klaus placed the tip of the gun on her belly she looked down and her heart skipped a beat, she asked herself what the hell was going on.

« I politely ask you to get in the car without complaining. » He said looking around himself to make sure police wasn't there. He also didn't want to draw the attention of the people. « Do it and nobody's gonna get hurt, sweetheart. » He pushed her a little bit towards the black car, Caroline was scared but still smart enough to not make a stupid move, that man had a weapon. Kol took her by the arm and he pushed her inside the car, Klaus sat on the back seat with his brother to entrap the hostage between them. As everybody got in Elijah immediately hit the gas to go away.

« Look who we have here! Isn't she stunning, Nik? » Kol laughed asking for his brother's opinion, then he extended his arm around the girl. Klaus smiled a little bit.

« Don't scare her, Kol. » He replied. Caroline, bothered, moved away from Kol and she gave a skeptical glance to Klaus.

« Said the man who pointed a gun at me! » She said with bravery. Klaus looked back at her.

« Don't take it personally. » He replied. Caroline couldn't believe what she was hearing. She still had no idea who they were but she wasn't stupid, she had understood they were enemies of her father.

« Who the hell are you? » She asked, upset. Kol immediately came closer to her, again.

« Kol Mikaelson! I'm pleased to meet you, babe. » He tried to kiss her hand but she pulled her arm away. That back seat was way to small to avoid physical contact.

« Soon you will have all the answers to your questions. Forgive my brother's childish behaviour. » Elijah spoke to her for the first time, for Caroline he was just the man who drove.

« C'mon Elijah! I was just trying to make her feel comfortable. » Kol replied.

« By acting like a rutting dog? » Klaus asked skeptically, tired of Kol's stupidity. The youngest brother shut up and he let his back fall against the seatback.

« Next time go kidnapping somebody without me, so your hostages will die of boredom. » He replied just as a child who gets offended by his older siblings.

« Stop it, the both of you! » Elijah tried to restore the order, but Klaus pulled out his gun again and Caroline moved on Kol's side because of the fear.

« Don't tell me what I have to do! » He shouted and Elijah sighed patiently.

« Woh, woh! Put the gun down man! » Kol said.

« Niklaus, there's a woman here. » Elijah added using his resoluteness. Klaus slowly hid the gun again under his jacket. They all wore elegant dresses, that was why Caroline was sure they weren't looking for money. Their car also looked a lot expensive.

« A woman? These trousers tell the contrary. » Klaus noticed the trousers Caroline wore. That was surely a weird style for a woman in the 20's. Kol laughed and Caroline gave the two brothers a hostile look.

« Maybe we should take them off and check. » Kol proposed.

« Touch me and I'll cut your hands. » Caroline replied with a fake smile on her lips. Klaus laughed again.

« She has quite a temper. » He said. The car started to slow down as they arrived in the French Quarter, everything there was ruled by the Mikaelson family. They entered in a big house across the gate, Caroline tried to see something from the windows. When the car stopped Klaus got down for first and he grabbed the girl's arm to make her follow him.

« Let's go, love. » He said, Caroline tried to escape from his grab but she didn't succeed. She hated being treated that way by a man.

« I know how to walk by myself... And stop calling me that way! » She complained in vain. The four of them walked across the hallways of the house, the walls were painted of warm colors as red, everything there looked expensive. The house had a square at the center, just like a stonework garden from where it was possible to see the corridors of the second floor. Elijah knocked against a door and a male voice invited them in. Klaus pushed Caroline inside the room, she immediately felt a terrible smell of smoke. Mikael sat behind his desk, that was his office and nobody every got there without his permission. The man was around fifty or maybe more. He carefully looked at Caroline.

« Miss Caroline Forbes. What a pleasure to meet you in person. Please, take a seat. Were my sons rude to you? » He asked smoking his cigar. Caroline slowly sat on one of the two chair in front to the desk. That man frightened her, yet she tried to hide the fear and she pressed her lips.

« Are you speaking of the one who pointed a gun at me, the one who wanted to undress me or the one who brought me here? » She asked rhetorically. Mikael took another breath of smoke and he laughed. « I know I'm here because of my father. I don't have informations you might need to know, he never tells me anything about his job. »

« I presume you know who I am. You can call me Mikael. » She knew his name, it was on every newspaper. « I'm sure you know also the importance of my family, you'll be smart enough to understand that I don't need the help of a little girl to get informations about the police, I have enough spies to predict every single move of those idiots. » He said. « So, you can consider your permanence in my home as an alliance. You, my dear, beautiful Caroline, will marry one of my sons. » Caroline slightly opened her mouth in shock. The silence in the room lasted just a few seconds. Immediately Klaus walked towards the desk and he looked at his father with an aggressive attitude.

« Is it a joke or what? » He asked, furious. Elijah stood by his brother's side and he placed his hand on Klaus' chest to make him take some steps back.

« You cannot force the girl to contract marriage against her own will. » Elijah said. Mikael stood up and he hit his fist against the desk. Some glasses fell to ground.

« Don't you dare to discuss my decision! » Mikael replied. Caroline stood with no fear, she had no intention to agree with the man.

« You are all out of you mind! You and my father can play war all you want but I'm not getting married to anyone! » She complained. Mikael walked around the desk reaching the other side to face the young girl.

« Accept my offer and you'll be condered part of the family, refuse it and everyone you love will die. Starting from your father. » Mikael threatened her. Caroline felt the rage in her body. « I'll give you one month to choose one of my two sons, Niklaus or Kol. As you can see you have vast choice. » He smiled at her. The blonde girl turned to reach the door and to get out of the room, nobody stopped her. Even if her intention was to escape she couldn't, that house was full of guards.

« This is mean, to threaten an innocent girl that way... What is your purpose? You've never cared about peace. » Elijah tried to understand.

« Don't speak to me with that arrogant tone. You're nothing but an ungrateful boy uncapable to guarantee a future to the name of this family by impregnating your wife with a male heir. » Mikael pointed his finger against his son. Klaus understood what his father was trying to get from that marriage: he didn't want just the control over the police, he wanted a grandson to preserve the family name through the years.

« And what if we oppose to your decision? What would you do to us, your own blood? » Klaus asked standing against his father. Mikael looked him in the eyes for a few moments, just when he seemed to be turning his back at him he punched him in the face using all his strenght. Klaus moved back with a hand on his face, some drops of his blood fell on his fingers.

« Get out of my sight, all of you. » Mikael said. Kol grabbed Klaus to convince him to leave the office without fighting back, Elijah opened the door. « And if the girl tries to escape show her who's in charge. Be violent, if necessary. » The man sat again on his chair, Klaus got out of the office for first: he needed some bourbon to get over it.

* * *

Rebekah spent the morning all alone in the big family house, after a long shower she cared about her hair making it look curly as the hair of the women on the magazines. At the end she did her make up and she wore a Chanel dress from her wardrobe. She didn't have nothing special in program, but just like everyday Marcel would have been there so she wanted to look beautiful. She was madly in love with him and he was in love with her, however their love was secret. He was just a street boy who worked for her family, Mikael wouldn't have considered him enough for his daughter. In the last month something had changed, she felt weak and tired, her period was late. Marcel didn't know anything about it, Rebekah was trying to not think about the worst. When the Mikaelson girl went out of her room to walk across the hallways she saw a new face. Caroline was there, she looked disoriented.

« And you are... » Rebekah indirectly asked her name. Caroline saw her, she was still upset and looking for an exit. That house was like a giant labyrinth. She didn't have the time to reply. « Your trousers are beautiful, where did you buy them? » Rebekah asked again.

« Uhm... Thank you. Truth to be told I designed them. » Caroline replied looking at the other girl's dress. She was the first one in that family who didn't have nothing bad to say about her original style.

« A stylist! » She realized smiling. Caroline wasn't really a stylist, she just worked in a tailor's shop, but she had some dreams.

« Your dress is beautiful as well. Chanel? » She asked. Maybe it wasn't right to speak about cloths when a criminal family had just kidnapped you, but Rebekah looked funnier that the others.

« Right, but I have better dresses in my wardrobe. » The Mikaelson girl smiled.

« I'm Caroline. » The other girl smiled back.

« Rebekah. » She replied. Caroline looked carefully her beautiful face, somehow she was sure that girl was of the family.

« You look like Marlene Dietrich, you know? » Rebekah laughed hearing the compliment. She didn't think she looked like a famous wonderful woman like Marlene Dietrich, but Caroline was kind.

« I think you and I are gonna be best friends. » She replied. Before they could say another word a brunette girl walked silently towards them with a little smile on her face. Her braided hair was dark, she had beautiful black eyes and slim legs.

« I saw you arriving in the car. Did they hurt you? » She asked referring to the three brothers. Caroline shaked her head. « I'm Katherine, Elijah's wife. » She introduced herself.

« Elijah, the nice one? » Caroline asked and Katherine laughed nodding.

« You're the detective's daughter, aren't you? » The brunette asked again. Caroline sighed a little bit.

« I am, and apparently it turned out to be a problem. »

« What kind of problem? » Katherine couldn't help herself from making questions.

« I have to marry one of those idiots... but I won't. » Rebekah and Katherine shared a glance.

« Well... If Mikael said it I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it. » Katherine replied. Caroline seemed to be more worried. She kept saying herself she would have found soon a solution but that girl was destroying all her hopes.

« Katherine is right. Mikael is my father and I can guarantee you it's hard to make him change his mind. » Rebekah added. « He already threatened you and your family, didn't he? He always keeps his word. » Caroline didn't care, she didn't want to believe them, she had no intention to get married with a stranger. « Unfortunately the best brother is already taken! » Rebekah smiled at Katherine.

« You're not helping. » Caroline said, but Rebekah grabbed her hand.

« Come with us, I'll show you your new room! » The three girls walked across the hallway of the second floor.

« You know, I had to marry Elijah because of an affair between our families. » Katherine tried to comfort the young girl.

« You look happy. » Caroline replied. Katherine winced.

« Well Elijah and I were already in love before the marriage. » She added and Caroline wrinkled her forehead.

« That isn't the same thing, Katherine! » Caroline had never seen Niklaus and Kol before, she didn't even like them! Elijah and Katherine had grown up together, she came from a bulgarian criminal family and they had a daughter together, the two years old Nadia.

« There's still the chance you will like one of them, after all they're sexy. Maybe you'll start enjoying your staying here. » Katherine said. A female voice called her name from the first floor so she stopped walking with Caroline and Rebekah. « Esther is calling, gotta go. See you tonight sweetie. » She shaked her hand and Caroline and Rebekah kept walking towards the beautiful and bedroom. When Caroline saw it she immediately liked it, Rebekah sat on the side of the bed.

« I hope you like the room, is the best we have for our guests. » Rebekah smiled while Caroline checked out the place. « Listen, I know this is not what you wanted and your priority is to escape from this house, but... don't do anything stupid. Katherine and I can help you, us girls gotta stick together. » Caroline looked the girl in the eyes, she was definitely kinder than her brothers. « So if you need clothes or make up or... anything you need, you can ask us. » She smiled. « And Nik and Kol... after all they're good guys. » She put a good word for her two brothers. Caroline tried to smile back, yet she was visibly unhappy.

« Thank you, Rebekah, it's nice of you. Now I'd just like to rest. » Rebekah nodded and she walked towards the door to let her stay alone.

« See you later. » Rebekah smiled before to leave the room. The silence prevailed and Caroline felt tired, everything that happened was just absurd to her, a girl who had always fought for her own rights and the rights of the women. She didn't want to sentence her family to death, yet she didn't want to marry one of those men. When she put her head on the pillow she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

**Hello guys and thank you for reading! This a new story, Federica and me are writing it together as we always do with every FF. We hope you like it, leave your reviews to let us know what you think so far! We have lots of things in mind, so the more reviews we get the sooner we will update. :) Xx**


	2. II chapter

**Bad blood - **_2nd chapter_

Caroline slept, she let herself rest freeing her mind from all the thoughts that had invaded it before she could close her eyes. She had too many questions with no answers floating inside her head, what was that family going to do to her? How her parents were going to react when they would have come to the knowledge of the truth? Their only daughter was the hostage of the Mikaelsons, the chance that they were going to see her again was low. The blonde girl was slowly realizing she ended up in a cage built of fake kindness, Mikael was just a criminal who had imprisoned her, there wasn't another side of the coin. When her eyes opened again she looked around herself, that wasn't her room, that wasn't her home. She didn't feel the smell of the flowers of the garden, the bed where she was laying was different from her own. She felt confused just like when, as a child, she fell asleep on the couch and she woke up in her bed the next morning without knowing that her father had brought her there in the night. The sun had almost faded away, as she moved to raise her chest she realized her stomach was empty, she was hungry. She decided to stay in the room, after all she didn't know that house at all and her idea of being an hostage was way far from being allowed to walk around the place. The thought of seeing Mikael or even just one of his sons again made her wanna vomit. She hated all of them. In the silence of the room Caroline could hear the noise of walks coming towards the shut door. She held her breath. Katherine appeared with a little girl in her arms, she came in without knocking.

"Caroline, did you sleep well?" She asked with a smile on her lips. How did she know she had been sleeping? Well, maybe that question had to be added to the long list of the ones with no answer. Caroline looked the child Katherine was holding. "Oh, she is my daughter, Nadia." The girl said, so Caroline smiled genuinely. Nadia had the same deep and dark eyes of her mother.

"She totally looks like you." Maybe it was still too soon to say that, children grew up fast and changed by the passage of time, that little girl wasn't more than two years old. She kept her tiny fist in her mouth and she swung her short legs making Caroline smile again, she had always liked babies.

"She will soon become more beautiful than me." Katherine replied. She loved her daughter, you could see it from the look in her eyes. "Dinner is ready, we're all waiting for you." She added. Caroline started to feel nervous, she didn't except a family dinner that evening. She weakly nodded and accepted to follow Katherine trough the dark hallways of the house. As they got in the elegant dining room all the eyes stopped on Caroline in admiration. For a few moments she forgot how to breath. A rectangular long table was placed at the center, all the family sat around it, Mikael was at the head. Sitting in front of him there was a woman with long blonde hair, she had proud and noble features.

"Caroline, please sit with us." The woman spoke, her voice was calm and her tone was charming. Her invite sounded just like an order. Caroline walked wavering towards her chair and Klaus stood up. Their eyes met, for a moment she asked herself why he was standing in front of her. He pulled her chair out to let her take her place. Caroline didn't thank him, she stayed quiet and sat between the two brothers, Kol was on her left side and Klaus on her right one.

"My name is Esther, welcome in my house." Her house. Esther Salvatore owned everything, she had the power over her family and the unconditional love of a man who showed her loyalty: Mikael. The truth was that her husband was just a man who came from the poverty of the outskirts of the city. He was nothing without his wife, the daughter of a Sicilian mafia's boss. Caroline immediately heard the italian accent of the woman. She barely smiled, she didn't feel welcome, she didn't want to be welcome in the house of the enemy.

"Let's make a toast in honor of our beautiful guest, Caroline. I recommend you all to make her feel at home." Mikael said raising up his glass. They all made the toast, everyone except Klaus and Elijah who shared a serious glance. Kol hit Caroline's glass and he smiled to the girl. She wasn't hungry anymore.

"Eat something, honey. Look how thin you are!" Esther said. On the dinner table there was way too much food, something was also in her dish but she didn't know what it was. Usually dinner wasn't a big deal in her house, sometimes she was also too busy to eat with her parents. Her father used to tell her things about italian people, he told her they were all criminals who brought the Mafia in America. His job led him to become the man he was, she didn't blame him for that, however she had no prejudices. She wasn't just a feminist, she was also an idealist who dreamt for a world free from discrimination.

"Mom, don't insist." Klaus defended Caroline. Kol didn't miss the chance to speak to the blonde girl, he looked at her smirking.

"Don't listen to her, you're gorgeous." She tried to smile back, then she held her fork to taste the food in her dish. It was good, it was really good. Esther kept her eyes on the girl waiting to hear what she thought.

"You like it?" She asked. Caroline nodded, Katherine drew the woman's attention on her and soon everybody started talking just as they haven't been speaking to each other for years. Caroline felt Klaus' eyes on her, she didn't know what he was looking at.

"Don't tell me you're still mad at me, love. I wouldn't have pointed you a gun if I knew you were going to be my potential future wife." He said taking it easy. He had spoke with Marcel in the afternoon, the two of them had spent some time together in a bar as they were used to do. That guy was the only one who had Klaus' trust, he was a real friend to him. Klaus had shared with him his thoughts about his father's plan and the whole marriage thing, when Marcel had asked him if Caroline was pretty he had said she was one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen. She truly was. Nik wasn't an accommodating man, on the contrary he was stubborn and selfish, everybody knew it. If he didn't like the idea of marring Caroline at least a little bit he wouldn't have been sitting at that table that evening. He was just following Marcel's advice: to give it a chance.

"Listen, no one of us likes this whole thing, stop acting like you care about what I think of you." Caroline replied.

"I'm just trying to make this thing easier for the both of us, sweetheart." He replied. "But obviously you're still mad at me. Is it for what I said about your trousers?" He joked trying to steal a little smile from her. "In that case I take everything back, I think they are... original." He added. Caroline tried hard to not smile but she failed, yet she didn't look him in the eyes, food was way better than men.

"Can we talk about something that doesn't involve the word marriage?" She asked. In the meantime everybody kept talking and joking between them, Nadia was also saying some new words and the family seemed to be excited about it.

"Why don't you talk me about you? I kept an eye on you this morning... Yours seems to be a busy life." He had been looking her the whole morning before the kidnapping, he knew she worked in a tailor's shop and he was courious, courious to know everything about her.

"Wow, so now you also played the spy. Did you have fun?" She asked nervously, making him laugh. Rebekah interrupted their chat, she let her mother place her hand on her forehead to feel her body temperature and Klaus looked at her asking himself what was going on.

"I don't feel good, mom. May I go to sleep?" The blonde girl asked to Esther. The woman nodded giving her the approval. Klaus' eyes stayed on his sister while she climbed the stairs to reach the second floor. He was a jealous brother and a suspicious man, somehow he knew about the thing Rebekah had with Marcel. He didn't investigated about it a lot, maybe he didn't want to find out the truth.

"Why don't you show Caroline the terrace? Klaus, Kol?" Esther proposed to her sons as the dinner went on. Caroline couldn't eat anymore, she wondered how they could keep eating so easily after the lasagna, the meat and the cannoli. She hated being part of the show ruled by Esther, everybody had to do what she said. Kol didn't keep any attention to his mother's words, on the other side Klaus looked at Caroline and he stood up for first extending his hand towards her, when the girl took it he smiled.

"This way, love." She let him guide her to the last floor, that house was big and she still didn't see all the rooms. They got to a red little door on the top of a stair, Klaus opened it to let Caroline enter before him. "Be careful, it's dark." He smiled again and she did the same holding his hand tightly. When her eyes saw the lighted up pool her lips slightly opened, it was beautiful. She walked towards one of the sunbeds and she sat on it looking at the starlit sky, Klaus took place by her side.

"I'm afraid you have to get used to eat a lot, even if my mother will keep seeing you too thin." He advised her. Caroline laughed and for the first time she looked at him, Klaus had a bottle of red wine in his hands. "Do you think your father is coming to save you?" He asked becoming serious again. Caroline thought about it.

"Wouldn't it be stupid? My father is probably fighting with my mom now. He will not do anything without thinking about his job first." She replied. Sad how the people he called criminals had the family values he didn't have. After a few seconds of silence Caroline looked at Klaus again. "You're not the only criminal here, you know? I've been arrested once." She revealed. Klaus lifted up his eyebrows. "Insulting a public official." She said feeling a little bit guilty. He laughed, she was the daughter of a detective, she had no excuse.

"Truth to be told I've never thought you were innocuous." He said smiling and extending her the bottle of wine. She drank without using the glass, they didn't have one. When he stood up he took her by the hand. "Dance with me." He said. Jazz music was playing from the street, the French Quarter was famous for the pubs. She laughed and danced with him, they didn't follow the right rhythm but they didn't seem to care about it. Their dance became slow, their bodies were close like never before. Klaus' arm was wrapped around her wrist while his hand held hers.

"Do you have a girlfriend? You can tell me... We don't have to pretend to be fine with this story." Caroline said.

"If I had a woman I wouldn't be here with you now, don't you think?" He asked. She didn't replay, he didn't make her the same question. "You know, Kol is just a boy... He wouldn't be able to satisfy you as much as I would." Klaus provoked her. Was he just joking? Maybe he was, maybe not. She smiled looking him in the eyes while their dance went on.

"Are you telling me I should chose you? How rude... You wouldn't give even a chance to your little brother?" She asked playing his same game.

"I don't know, love. I easily get jealous of what's mine." He replied. For the first time she realized he was handsome, she liked everything about his face. It was such a pity she couldn't bear him. She softly touched his cheekbone, he had a bruise she hadn't seen before.

"How did you get this?" She asked thoughtfully.

"My father. He doesn't enjoy being contradicted." He whispered. "Maybe I just need a kiss to heal from the pain." He smirked. Caroline thought he was just a cunning bastard. She make him turn his face on the right side to left an innocent kiss on his cheek. Maybe it wasn't what he excepted. Klaus felt her lips on his skin and he desired to have more. When their eyes met again he smiled. "Now I feel definitely better." He said making her laugh. Just a few moments later the door opened and Kol came in.

"Are you keeping her for yourself Nik? It's my turn!" He shouted coming closer to them and grabbing Caroline's arm to make her swing. "Do you like jazz, Caroline? We should hang out together one of these nights, I'm gonna make you have a little fun." He said, then he gave a glance to Klaus who didn't seem happy about his presence there. "Don't tell me you like the old men." Kol laughed and Caroline took some steps back, she didn't like to be touched like that.

"I'm tired, it's been a long day. Goodnight guys." She didn't wait for an answer, she walked away to come back in her room. She had to stay alone with herself to think about that night. What was she doing? Why did she let her guard down with the enemy?

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed it! As you asked me I put the speech marks for the dialogues, it should be ok now. So, what do you think? In the next chapter there will be a sweet Rebekah x Marcel moment. **

**Leave reviews. C:**


	3. III chapter

**Bad blood** - _3rd chapter_

Rebekah knew what she was doing was dangerous. It was late night, she was still weak after the family dinner, yet she couldn't hide herself in the blankets of her bed to sleep. Marcel was waiting for her outside her house, just as they had planned. They always saw each other in secret to avoid Rebekah's brothers wrath. Niklaus was the main problem, he was possessive and jealous of his little sister, nobody was ever enough for her. He couldn't understand how genuine her feelings for Marcel were. Rebekah wasn't surprised, Klaus had never loved somebody; how can you accept something that you don't even know? The Mikaelson girl was nervous, she had to speak to her lover about what was happening inside of her, Marcel had to know they didn't have lots of time anymore, he had to ask to Mikael for her daughter's hand before the belly started growing. She was worried for the future of the man she was in love with, somehow she felt guilty. To conceive a baby out of the marriage was a dishonour, Marcel was going to risk his own life because of the rules of Rebekah's family. In the dark of the house she silently walked in the hallways at night to reach the only exit. When she heard the noise of walks behind her she stopped and she turned without breathing. Her mother was right there starring at her with an inquisitional look in her eyes. Rebekah's lips slightly opened in shock and fear.

"Mom, please... don't say anything." She begged. Esther's arms were folded, she didn't seem angry, she never seemed angry. The lady was unpredictable, mysterious, evil. She was able to easily manipoulate her husband Mikael, she was capable to do terrible things. Niklaus looked a lot like her, he was her favorite son, he reminded her of the man she had loved, not Mikael. Klaus had the same eyes of that man, who was after all his real father. Klaus knew it, Esther knew it, it was their little secret.

"Be careful, child." She said to her daughter. Esther was smart and cunning, Rebekah had thought to keep the secret of her relationship with Marcel taking for granted her enemies. The truth was that Esther had always known it. She was older than her daughter, she had done before what Rebekah was doing now. "Don't come back home late." She said. Rebekah had a sigh of relief, she went out of that house sooner as she could even realize she was already walking in the street to reach the hidden corner where she usually met Marcel. She saw him and when the tall, handsome guy saw her they smiled each other and they hugged. In that moment Rebekah felt happy, just like if everything she needed was right there.

"I've missed you." He whispered, overwhelmed by her sweet perfume. His arms were tight around her.

"Of course you've missed me, you've been around with Nik the whole day." Rebekah replied. She wasn't angry at all, she knew Marcel didn't chose Klaus over her, he was just forced to act as they weren't in love. He showed her the rose he had stolen for her from a garden, she smiled with him taking the flower in her hand.

"This is for you." Marcel said, Rebekah kissed him on the lips. Their foreheads touched and they stayed close.

"Just wait until we're alone and I'll thank you as you deserve." She provoked him speaking softly to not be heard by anyone but him. Marcel had a surprise for her, something romantic he knew she would have loved. The blonde girl looked down to the ground, he noticed the sad look in her eyes and he immediately thought that something had happened with her brothers.

"Hey, what's up?" He asked caressing her soft and pale cheek. Rebekah looked him in his dark eyes again and she smiled.

"Nothing, I'm just tired..." She lied. That wasn't the right moment to tell him she was expecting his child, even if that should have been a wonderful news for two people who loved each other as they did. If only her family was different... Marcel tried to believe her. "Where are we going tonight?" She asked and he kissed her again.

"You'll see." He replied smiling. Rebekah was impatient to know their destination. They got in the car - Klaus had given one to Marcel because the guy didn't have enough money to buy one -, Rebekah stayed silent on the way, which was weird since she usually spoke a lot. The window on her right side was open to let the wind refresh them in that warm spring night. When she turned to watch Marcel she sighed a little bit. She had never felt so nervous in her enitre life.

"Did you think about telling Nik of us? We've been together for months now, I'm tired to hide." She said, Marcel distractedly nodded.

"Yeah, you don't have to be worried about that, I'll tell him as soon as he hushes things up with his new girl." He was talking about Caroline, Klaus had told him everything about the marriage and the girl his father had brought in their house. Rebekah tried to not complain, Marcel kept telling her he was going to fix everything with her family but the winter had gone and nothing had changed. They didn't have time anymore. They got to the lake, it was dark and relaxing, Marcel told her to close her eyes and they walked away from the other people. She trusted him, his hands were on her eyes, laughing they reached an isolated little area between the trees.

"Can I open my eyes now?" She asked, Marcel didn't answer, she could feel him moving around. When his hands touched her hips she opened her eyes. A white blanket layed to the ground, rose petals were everywhere and a little lantern lighted up the place. It was all romantic, just as she liked. She couldn't speak, she felt happiness and sadness at the same time, she didn't want to ruin that perfect moment telling him about the news she had. Sometimes she thought to not deserve a man as sweet as Marcel. "Marcel..." She whispered his name in surprise. The guy smiled looking at her face. Rebekah throw her arms around his neck to hug him. They stayed quiet until she took some steps towards the white blanket, Marcel knew something was wrong with her.

"Are you ok? What's wrong? You look sad." Marcel kept asking. When she turned to look at him she seemed to be worried.

"There's something you need to know." She said. Words had never been so hard to be said.

"What is that?" He was impatient. He thought she was going to break with him, maybe another man had stolen her heart.

"Just... promise me you won't get mad." She insisted. Marcel sighed, he couldn't wait anymore.

"Rebekah, just tell me what is it." It was too late to hang back, the time had come to face the truth.

"I think I'm pregnant." The silence she had feared came after her words, her eyes stayed on Marcel trying to see any trace of his emotions. His lips were slightly open and his look was on the woman he loved. Marcel wanted to feel the happiness that any father would have felt, yet the fear of what Klaus was going to do to him kept him from being cheerful. "Please, say something." Rebekah begged him.

"Nobody has to know it. Your brother is gonna kill me." He passed his hand on his head and he took a long breathe while he started thinking about a solution. His love for Rebekah was strong, she was the best thing he had, that baby was just the proof of that feeling. Rebekah's family was the only problem, not their child, and Marcel had no intention to give up on what was his. He came closer to Rebekah to take her hands, they were cold as ice.

"If Nik finds out..." She said, scared.

"He won't. I'm gonna ask your father for your hand tomorrow." Rebekah opened her eyes widely hearing Marcel's words. That was a crazy idea, her father wouldn't have never accepted.

"Have you lost your mind? He is not going to give you the permission to marry me!" She said out loud. Marcel took her face in his palms to calm her down, they shared a deep glance and she sighed. Rebekah wanted the best for that child, she needed to have Marcel by her side when the baby would have been borned.

"Trust me. Everything will be alright." Marcel said. She nodded, maybe it wasn't true, maybe things were going to be a mess, but she didn't want to think about that. Marcel smiled to her and Rebekah smiled back. Was it so bad to be happy about being parents? "How do you feel? Is the baby ok? We need to see a doctor." Rebekah nodded again with that little smile on her lips.

"I'm fine now. We are fine." She replied. Marcel caressed her cheeks trying to not show his concern. The Mikaelsons were dangerous, he had seen them punishing their enemies before, they killed and tortured who stood against them with no mercy. He had done something terrible, he had broken their trust by sleeping with Mikael's daughter without being married to her. That was a deep wound for the family's pride. Rebekah placed her head on Marcel's chest.

"I hope it's gonna be a girl." The blonde whispered while Marcel softly touched her hair. She repeated to herself that everything was going to be alright.

* * *

Klaus went to sleep late, just as he always used to do. At night he worked on his canvas, he painted, the dark gave him the right inspiration. The next day Elijah woke him up telling him to wear a suit: they were going to meet Caroline's father, the detective. The man looked strict, he hid the pain of his lose behind an impassive face. Mikael spoke during the meeting that took place in a bar of the French Quarter, every man in the room was armed to the teeth. Bill Forbes didn't bring anyone with him, just as Mikael told him to do in his letter. While his father explained his plans to the detective Klaus started to have a new vision of the whole situation. He was the bastard son of Mikael, he knew it and he hoped it to stay a secret as long as Mikael was alive. He was nothing compared to Elijah. What would have happened to all the power after the death of his father? Probably his eldest brother would have inherited it all. There was still something Klaus could do to get what he wanted, he could marry the girl that Mikael had chosen for him and he could give him the grandchild he was waiting for. With a wife and son who would have kept alive the name of the family Klaus would have had a chance to become the favorite son of Mikael. At that point the power over the city would have been his. Caroline wasn't just the daughter of a member of the police, she was also the best choice for Klaus. After the meeting they all came back in the family house, Caroline had already woke up and Katherine had brought her the letter that their parents had written for her. The tears dampened her eyes when she read those words in the the solitude of her room.

Dear daughter,  
I can't put my sorrow into words, I would have never imagined that the Miklasons would have hurt what I love the most to punish me for my actions against them. I didn't want you to become the victim of my mistakes. It has been told to me that nobody is going to do something bad to you if we all follow their rules. I tried to reassure your mother from her pain, you know how much she loves you. I did everything I could do to make you come back home with us, I miserably failed. I promise you that I won't give up until I'll breathe my last breath.  
With love,  
Dad.

Caroline, honey, I swear to God that your father will pay for this. I wish there was something I could do for you. I packed your things, somebody will give you your suitcase very soon. This won't be the last letter you'll get from us.  
I love you,  
Mom.

Caroline sighed. Her mother was pissed and she had all the right to be so. Somebody knocked to the door, she immediately retired the tears hiding the letter she was holding between the blankets of the bed she was sitting on.

"Come in." She said. Klaus came in the room, he smiled to her and he walked towards the bed to put her small suitcase on it. It wasn't heavy, it was almost summer and the clothes that her mother had put in it were light.

"Good morning, love. I brought you some things you're going to need." He said. Caroline watched him, he was wearing a suit and she asked herself why. He looked good in it. She remembered of the moments they had shared together the night before and she felt embarrassed. He was a criminal, the guilty of her pain, she wasn't ready to allow herself to feel something for him, she didn't want to. Maybe women out there were shallow and dominated by men, but she wasn't. "Your mother wanted to be sure you had enough clothes." He added. He stayed stand on his feet for a few moments, smiling at her.

"Good morning to you." She replied. "It wasn't necessary for you to bring me my stuff, as you can see I have my own legs to walk and my own hands to grab things... But thank you." She didn't want to be gentle or funny, she hated the idea of being treated with kindness just becouse somebody had told him to act like that. Klaus smirked and walked away to open the window of the room, when he turned to look at her he spoke again.

"Is your bed comfortable enough for you? Otherwise I can order to someone to change it." She didn't mind of his words, she was pretty busy watching inside her suitcase. Somebody had touched her things before she could do it, it was pretty clear that they had checked every inch of the luggage to make sure nothing dangerous was in it.

"Don't worry, my bed is comfortable." She replied distractedly. "So it didn't work, damn. You found the arsenic and the gun in my suitcase. What a pity." She used her sarcastic irony to inform him to know what they had done to the suitcase. Klaus laughed, he couldn't help himself from admiring her for her sharp tongue.

"It's all about prevention, love. You learn to be careful when you're the member of the most dangerous criminal family of the city." He explained to her. Caroline saw the draws her mother had put between her clothes, she had made them. There were also a few photos that showed her at the beach with a friend. When she stood up to frame them on the mirror of the room Klaus came closer to the bed to take a look to those draws.

"You're a good artist." He said. Some of them showed the sketches of some clothes, some others were portraits. She looked at him pressing her lips and crossing her arms against her chest.

"Thanks." She sighed. Their eyes met for a moment, right before he could admire her nude legs. She wore a one piece body suit, it was tight and it didn't leave much to the imagination. A cardigan covered her shoulders, yet she was too uncovered for the standards. She realized that Klaus was watching a little too much, so she rolled her eyes. "There's a parade in the street, I know I can't go out, is there any window from which I can see it?" She asked trying to take his the attention away from her legs. Klaus smiled.

"Of course there is, sweetheart. Come with me." He extended his arm towards the door to show her the way, when she took a step he placed his hand behind her back to lead her towards his own room. Caroline felt it, she didn't say anything. Somehow she liked those little attentions that he always gave her, even when she wanted to hate them. Luckily they didn't meet anyone on their way, if one of the women of the house saw her walking around almost naked with him rumors would have started. Klaus brought Caroline in his room, it was big, a little step separated two areas, the first one was just like a regular bedroom, the second one was full with paints and canvas. Klaus took her hand after he closed the door behind him.

"Come, I want to show you something." She followed him. Sometimes he did things she didn't expect, like taking her hand to lead her somewhere. It was... sweet. She couldn't understand if he acted like that just because he was forced to by his father. They stopped in front to a paint that showed a night view of the city, the sky was blue and shades of warm colors contrasted the cold ones. Caroline was speechless.

"Did you do this?" She asked and he nodded. The other paints were beautiful as well, but that one had something special. Yet, there was also something that was missing. "Is it incomplete?" She asked again. Klaus appeared confused, he looked at her.

"Does it look incomplete to you?" Caroline didn't want to give him an answer, she smirked softly. That wasn't her paint, after all. She gave him a cunning glance, he smiled back at her. Klaus loved her face, he loved how she used to look at him, he also found quite funny how she got easily angry at him. "I can give you everything you need to paint, since you enjoy drawing." He said.

"It would be nice of you." Caroline replied. She didn't want to spend her time doing nothing in that house, working on new clothes, maybe, could have been a good remedy against the boredom. "We should paint together one of these days." She immediately asked herself why she just said that. To cover the embarrassment she walked towards the window, people was dancing and singing in Bourbon Street, she would have liked to join them. Klaus followed her and he trapped her body, his arms were her cage. His hands touched the window sill, he didn't touch her. When Caroline realized how close they were breathing became harder. He was behind her, she could almost feel his chest against her back. Her eyes didn't move from the street while Klaus kept looking at her profile.

"My mother is throwing a welcome party in your honor, tonight. You'll meet the rest of the family and some friends. There will be food, jazz... alcol." He laughed. "It will be fun." Caroline couldn't be happy as Klaus was. She thought she had already met the whole family. A party full of armed italian perople and alcool. That didn't sound safe at all.

"In my honor?" She asked with a shade of sadness in her voice. Klaus nodded again. She sighed, then her eyes came back to the crowded street. She didn't want to attend the party, yet she had no other choice.

"Your detention won't last much. It depends on you, it will be easier if you show this family your loyalty." He suggested her. Giving up wasn't part of her, she didn't care about how powerful that family was, she wanted her freedom back. To kneel as a slave in front to his lord? That wasn't what she was going to do.  
"I won't let anyone treat you as a prisoner, after all you're my wife." Klaus said. His arrogance prevailed again. He didn't mind about Kol, it was just as Caroline had already told him that he was her final choice. Well, she didn't like that lust of control he had. She looked at him, her expression was skeptical and irritated. What game was Klaus playing?

"So now you decided that I'm your wife?" She didn't want an answer, she already knew it. She hated him: he was annoying, impertinent, aggressive and too handsome to be so close to her face. She truly hated him, it was that kind of hate in which you want to slap someone's face and then kiss his lips. Caroline pushed him to walk towards the door, Klaus didn't stop her. He stayed alone in front to that window, his eyes didn't watch her going away from him. He felt hurt, just as a child that doesn't get the toy that he craves. He realized that Caroline Forbes wasn't just an ordinary woman.

* * *

**Thank you all for reading! It's amazing how you responded to this new story, I hope you liked the chapter! If you have questions, suggestions or just want to write a comment leave a review. :) Xoxo P.S for those who asked for Caroline x Kol moments they'll have them soon in the next chapter.**

**KatherinePetrova **_So far now this story is amazing. I really love the idea of Katherine x Rebekah x Caroline as BBF. I also like the way you've created Caroline's personality. It's totally suits her. Klaus and Kol. GREAT! I enjoy their brother-ish chick chats. Klaus is smut and stunnig as always. Like real Klaus that I love. Kalijah is perfect. When Kath said that one day Nadia will be beautifuller than her. It was just flawless. So I really adore your story. Please update it as soon as you can._  
_Love,_  
_Luce_  
_XOXO_ **-****Oh gosh, thank you!**

**bellarose-riddle**_ I love this!_  
_I almost cried when Katherine said that Nadia was their daughter, it was beautiful :)_  
_And Caroline and Bex are great._  
_Crazy idea! Rebekah is not feeling right because she is pregnant! (?) (I don't know what my imagination is even doing)_  
_Klaus and Kol... Caroline should choose Klaus, even if I would choose Kol ;)_  
_Hope you update soon, sweetheart!_  
_Xoxo_** - You were right! Rebekah is having a baby. :) I'm happy you liked the Kalijah thing, they will share some moments very soon. Thank you!**

**AvalonTheLadyKiller **_I'm astounded by the level of quality you exude in your writing. You've successfully portrayed her as an beautifully independent woman. Klaus has quickly realized that this is, by far a good deal for him. Who knows who Mikeal would pick for him, otherwise. Kol looks to be in for quite the fight, if he decides to challenge Klaus, for her. Elijah & Katherine are well written, as well. -_**What an amazing compliment, thank you!**


	4. IV chapter

**Bad Blood - **_4th chapter_

In that night of Spring the big atrium of the Mikaelson family's house was adorned with tables, flags and flowers. An empty space in the middle of the room let the guests dance the jazz music, one of the best bends of the whole city was playing. The welcome party in honor of Caroline had just started. Everyone wore fine clothes, the women's dresses sparkled at the light, the men were elegant in their suits. The three Mikaelson brothers received everyone at the door, Rebekah wasn't there with them. Eveytime Klaus tried to look around in order to find his sister somebody or something drew his attention away. As the house got crowded the brothers sat around a table, Kol in front of Klaus and Elijah stood behind his chair. Their friends joined them, the group of men got immediately loud; alcol was in every glass, they entertained themselves by making indecent jokes, Kol, in particular, had a vast imagination. Elijah was the quietest of them all, he didn't speak much, he simply smiled at their irony. Klaus was hysterical, almost incapable to stop laughing, drinking and moving his arms while he spoke. The truth was that he felt a certain anxiety at the idea of seeing Caroline again. The two of them had fought that same morning, after their last speak in his room Klaus hadn't seen her again, he was pretty sure that the women of the family had involved her in the preparations of the party while he was out for work. As if the whole wedding story wasn't enough, Rebekah gave him some worries; that girl was acting weird, and she wasn't the only one. Klaus' eyes remained on Marcel for a few moments, the guy was sitting right beside him. He didn't seem to be enjoying the party.

"You look nervous, Marcel. Why don't you drink with us?" He asked giving him a glass full of bourbon. Marcel tried hard to mask his concern behind a polite smile. He wasn't calm, not at all, on the contrary he feared for his own life. He had gotten his secret girlfriend pregnant, a girlfriend who had as her brothers a bunch of mad criminals, a girl who wasn't her wife yet. He had seen the Mikaelson brothers kill someone for less terrible sins. Was Klaus going to kill him before he could actually ask for his sister hand? He didn't know that, he couldn't. The night before he had promised Rebekah that he was ready to speak with her father about that whole thing to try to fix it, but he hadn't done anything. He was pretty sure she was pissed fot that. "Take it easy, mate. Look around, this place is full of alcol and fun." Klaus kept provoking his friend by using a suspicious tone. "Is there anything we can do for you? Perhaps we should find you a girl... a blonde one, since you particularly like them." He got a dig in at his friend. Marcel didn't say anything back, the two of them stared at each other for a few seconds, then Kol interrupted the tense silence.

"Speaking of blondes, I hope Caroline is wearing a dress that shows her big boobs. Have you seen them? I would put my face between them and..." Kol stopped himself to say something more, everyone around him started laughing and he looked at every single man of that table. "What? Why do you laugh?" He asked with a soft smile. Klaus didn't give to him any explanation, on the contrary he waited for him to turn around and see with his own eyes Caroline. When Kol did it he remained speechless, yet he didn't feel guilty at all. His cunning smile was still on his face. "Caroline! What a beautiful dress, my dear!" He said, his friends laughed again, Caroline was the only one who didn't look particularly amused.

"Oh, thank you so much Kol, I was hoping for it to give you the right inspiration for some obscene jokes." She gave a strict glance to Klaus before to go. She couldn't believe he had allowed his brother to speak like that of her. "Assholes..." She said in a low tone of voice. When she reached the bar a man she had never seen before looked at her, then he came closer. He was young, handsome, elegant.

"Somebody bothered you, Miss Forbes?" He asked politely. Caroline looked at him, apparently everyone in the room knew her name but she didn't know anyone.

"Some men think they have a good sense of humor, instead they own nothing but vulgarity." She replied taking off her white silk gloves. She wore a fine light dress, it was golden and beige, her chest was covered by a transparent veil, her breast was covered by the embroidery of the dress.

"Let me introduce myself. I'm Stefan, Stefan Salvatore." He smiled and he extended his arm towards her, when Caroline gave him her hand he almost kissed it. She had heard about him, he was Esther Salvatore's nephew, Klaus' cousin. She also knew Stefan had a brother, but that same day in the kitchens Esther didn't speak much about him. When the bartender came to them he ordered his drink. "A whiskey for me, and for the lady..." He waited for Caroline to choose.

"A Martini, please." She immediately thought that Stefan wasn't rude as the other men of that family.

"I see that my cousin Nik wasn't lying when he told me about your beauty." Stefan said, Caroline smiled. She didn't think he was so imprudent to try to flirt with his cousin's girl, Stefan didn't have any intention to do it, he was just being polite to her. The bartender gave them their drinks, she immediately had a sip of her Martini.

"Then would you dance with a beautiful lady, Mr. Salvatore?" She laughed and she broke every formality that imposed to the men to ask a lady for a dance. She didn't care at all about those social conventions; If she wanted to dance and have fun she wouldn't have waited for somebody to give her the chance to do it. Stefan smiled and he took her hand to bring her on the dance floor, the two of them started dancing and laughing together with their drinks in ther hands. When the music got slower he stayed close to her. "I hope you don't consider me too impertinent... I just love this song." Caroline didn't want him to misunderstand her attitude.

"I never judge someone at first sight, and you, by the way, aren't impertinent." Stefan replied and they smiled to each other, yet he glimpsed some sadness in her eyes. "I'm sorry, Caroline. I know everyone will congratulate with you for your imminent wedding with one of my cousins, but I think it would be inappropriate to do it considering the circumstances. I'm sorry they took your freedom away. I hope, anyway, that they're being kind to you." His kind words helped Caroline, she realized that she needed to hear them.

"Nobody should be subjected to a similar injustice, but there's nothing I can do about it... They're nice to me, Stefan, but I don't know if I will ever be happy again. Perhaps I'll be forced to change my concept of happiness." She said and he kept himself silent to respect her. Even if maybe he didn't know it, he had just helped her. In the meantime Klaus had seen it all. He was sitting on his chair, Marcel was by his side, they were both drinking to drown their sorrow. Marcel had his troubles, Klaus had his unfounded jealousy.

"We fought this morning, she didn't even look at me tonight. Women... They're complicated. This is why I didn't plan to get married any soon... But the times passes, Marcel, and it does it quickly. I need a family, I need a wife." He said to his friend while he drank his bourbon, his eyes were still on Caroline and Stefan, the two of them kept dancing together and Klaus didn't like it at all. When he looked at Marcel he pointed his finger against him. "Kill me, If I will ever become as boring as Elijah is." Klaus joked and he laughed. Elijah was the perfect husband and the perfect man, yet he didn't want to turn into a second version of his big brother. Klaus saw him dancing with Katherine while Nadia was thight in his arms, that was a strange way to dance, but it was the perfect way to do it for them, they were happy.

"C'mon Klaus, you won't become like Elijah, you know you're way better than him." Marcel replied faking a laugh. Klaus nodded, he perfectly knew it, yet he was suspicious, all those compliments gave him the feeling that his friend was just plotting something behind his back. When he saw his sister looking back at them he sighed.

"My beautiful sister... she acted weird in the last days, just as you did." Klaus said, Marcel tried hard to hide his fear.

"I'm sure she's just nervous since you give lots of attentions to Caroline. Maybe she feels... ignored by you." He wanted to make him feel guilty about something he didn't do, smart move, but Klaus wasn't a fool, he knew they were hiding something, he just didn't know what. "I'm going to take some drinks, mate." Marcel said, then he walked towards the bar where Rebekah was sitting and drinking water, just water, alcol was dangerous for the baby.

"You're ravishing tonight." He whispered to her without getting too much close. Rebekah jumped a little bit and sighed, she didn't expect him to arrive behind her. She was still angry at him, maybe a little too angry. "I need to talk to you... follow me outside." Marcel whispered again and he walked out of the house. The blonde girl waited a few minutes before to do as he had said, she followed him and Klaus saw her. He drank the last drops of the bourbon in his glass, then he stood up to walk towards Caroline and Stefan, when his cousin saw him standing in front of them on the dance floor he immediately took some steps back and he let Caroline's hand go.

"May I steal her from you?" Klaus joked, Stefan smiled back and he bowed his head a little bit in a sign of agreement, Caroline looked at Klaus and she saw how good he looked in his suit.

"Caroline, it's been a pleasure to meet you." The man said, they smiled to each other for the last time, then Klaus extended his arm towards Caroline and when she gave him her hand he took it bringing her near to his body in a determined and pasionate move. The girl sighed, they were so close that she could easily sense his perfume, just like it had happened that same morning in Klaus' room.

"I see you've met my cousin. Do you like him?" Klaus asked directly while they danced together following the notes of a slow song played by the band. Caroline looked him in the eyes and she frowned at him.

"Are you... jealous?" She asked confused, thinking that he was just overacting, she hadn't done anything to give him a reason to feel like that. She couldn't say she wasn't intrigued by his possessive attitude.

"Of course I am, love. Is it so hard to believe?" He had no intention to lie and to hide his true nature. Caroline hid a soft smile by stopping to look at him, her face was near to his shoulder.

"Stefan is a really nice guy, any woman would be attracted by his polite manners." She said letting Klaus' jealousy grow fast, he didn't stop looking for her eyes. "But don't worry... I don't let men kidnap me anymore." She whispered at the end, provoking him by getting closer to him just for a few moments before to laugh and keep dancing. She was playing with fire and Klaus loved it. Her happiness made him smile, it was like he could feel her joy and he couldn't to not share it with her. Klaus drew her near to him again, their bodies touched, that slow dance became a real self-control test.

"It's a pity, love, because I was thinking about kidnapping you right now, right here, to bring you away from all these people... Maybe I can still do it, after all I don't need your approval." He whispered near to her ear. His deep voice almost made Caroline melt. She looked him in the eyes again.

"Just because I'm forced to marry you and I'm letting you touch me like this... It doesn't mean you've won." She replied. Klaus smiled softly, she never made things easy, he tied her in his arms with more strength, in response. He had an idea, he wanted to bring her in the only place they could be left alone, maybe a night bath in the pool was that they both wanted and needed.

"Tell me, what are you wearing under your dress?" He asked. She couldn't believe to what she had just heard, she asked herself if he was being serious, was he really trying that new way of flirting? Well, she couldn't say it totally sucked. Truth was that Caroline liked his voice too much to make him stop talking like that. She smiled, ready to play Klaus' game.

"I guess you'll have to wait until you'll see it with your own eyes." She provoked him again, maybe she was even better than him in the game of seduction. "So, Klaus... do you still want to take me away from all these people?" He smiled, there was no time to waste, holding her hand he lead her towards the stairs to reach the last floor, before they could even get close to them Marcel came out of nowhere, his face was tense and worried. The man stayed still in front of Klaus, he was alone, there was something he had to tell him.

"Klaus, I need to speak to you about an important thing... in private." He said giving a glance to Caroline, almost as to say she had to leave them.

* * *

_What happened before:_

Rebekah followed Marcel outside the house, she tried hard to not cry on her way, inevitably the tears started to stream down her face when she saw him at the corner of the family mansion, in the dark garden. She walked quickly towards him and when she got close enough she hit his shoulder with her purse. Marcel asked himself the meaning of all of it, he took some steps back, confused. The girl didn't stop crying, she stopped hitting on him just when her lover took her by her arms to push her behind the corner. She felt trapped between his body and the wall behind her back.

"Rebekah, what's wrong with you? Stop it." He whispered to not let anyone hear anything; they were out there in secret and nobody had to see them together. They were both tired of that story, they were tired to hide, but there was no alternative.

"Where the hell have you been!? I was worried about you, I thought that something had happened to you! You promised me you were going to speak to my father today, you didn't!" She shouted, the man tried to make her stop, she didn't listen to him. "I'm tired, Marcel, I'm tired of waiting! I didn't do anything but wait in the last months, if you don't want to take your responsibility then tell me, don't you dare to give me false hopes!"

"You're right, goddammit, I'm sorry!" He spoke before she could finish her last sentence. "I'm sorry I made you worry!" He repeated and Rebekah started to calm down a little bit, her breath was still fast. He looked at her body and her face, his hands caressed her cheeks and touched her tears. "You're beautiful even when you're angry." He whispered, Rebekah turned her face on the other side to not let him see or touch her.

"Why should I listen to the compliments of a liar?" She asked.

"Listen, I tried to speak to your brother. He knows something, Rebekah, and honestly I don't even know why I'm still alive. It's a difficult situation and I'm afrain it's too late to ask your father for your hand... but I love and I want this baby. Run away with me." That was his great idea: to run. Rebekah looked at him shocked, for a while she didn't speak, she almost felt that her strengths were going to abandon her body.

"You've completely lost your mind." She murmured, then she pressed her hands against his chest to make him move and let her walk, she wasn't going anywhere, she just needed to breathe frash air and... walk for a few steps. When she turned again towards him she still looked pretty shocked. "You know what they're gonna do when they'll find us? Because they will find us, my family has damned spies in every corner of this freaking city..." She started speaking. "They will kill you in front of my eyes before our child can even take his first breath! And I will be forced to raise a baby alone, inventing stupid stories about his father's death!" Marcel didn't say a word. Rebekah tried to think rationally. She was ready to take a decision, if Marcel didn't want to do it she would. "I... I can speak to Katherine. She knows people who will get me an abortion in exchange of money."

"Don't even think about that, Bekah, it's our child." Marcel immediately replied. "It's dangerous and illegal." Rebekah laughed sarcastically.

"Because now you care about what's legal and illegal... Do I have to remind you that you work for a criminal family?" She asked. That wasn't the right moment to make fun of that whole situation, but she was desperate and lost. Marcel came closer to her and he took her by her arms again.

"Enough... I'm going to talk to Klaus right now. If it doesn't work we'll do it my way." He said. Rebekah slightly opened her mouth. They were both scared as hell, but they had to face the truth.

"What? Oh my God... Don't say a word about the baby or we're death. He will kill us all." She started ranting and raving.

"Bring me luck." He quickly kissed her lips, then he started to walk towards the entrace but Rebekah grabbed him again to kiss him passionately. They both took some moments to live their last moments of peace, their foreheads touched when they stopped kissing.

"I love you, Marcel... Did you understand me?" She asked in a whisper. They both closed their eyes, Marcel nodded before to go, leaving Rebekah alone. She cried in fear, she waited for that night to end.

* * *

"Don't you see I'm busy, Marcel?" Klaus asked, annoyed by the presence of his friend. That was his moment with Caroline and he wasn't going to allow anyone to ruin it. Marcel, on the other hand, didn't seem ready to leave for any reason. Caroline smiled softly and she looked at Klaus, then she caressed his arm with care.

"Don't you worry, I'm going to take a drink so you two can talk alone." She said. Klaus gave her a nasty and deep glance, he kissed the hand she had placed on his arm before she could leave.

"It won't take long, love." He reassured her. They smiled to each other for the last time, then Caroline walked away to reach the bar again. Klaus took some moments to look at her walking, then he came closer to Marcel, so close that he stopped looking at his face and he started to make sure that nobody behind his friend's back was looking at them.

"What the hell do you want? I hope you have something relevant to tell me, because you just ruined my fun... Interrupting me when I'm with my future wife, what is wrong with you?" Klaus was wrathful, but what Marcel had to tell him was pretty relevant. The man didn't mind to the disrespectful tone of voice of his friend, he nodded.

"I know you're busy, but it's important... Actually it's about Rebekah and... I should've told you about it before." Marcel spoke. Klaus wasn't surprised, he knew about their "secret story", he had never caught them together but he wasn't a fool, he knew his little sister and he knew the man he had considered a brother until that night. There was something going on between the two of them, he had waited a lot for their confession and finally the time had come. Marcel was nervous, he was trying to find the right words. "Truth is that I fell in love with her, Nik, and... I was hoping for you to give me your approval to..." He stopped speaking as Klaus put his hand behind his neck without hurting him, not yet.

"Let me give you a little advice, mate." He said in a whisper. "Stay away from my sister, don't let your mind think that she's yours, not even for a moment, do it and you'll be a enemy to this family, a dead enemy. I'm sure I've made myself clear... You and Rebekah have had your fun, don't think that I don't know it, but after all I'm a merciful man who never denies a second chance to a brother." Klaus smiled after his speech. Marcel kept looking him in the eyes, when his _friend_ took some steps back he relaxed his fist. "Don't make me regret the goodness I've shown to you, Marcel." After he said those words Klaus walked away, looking for Caroline. He didn't find her at the bar, so Kol indicated him the way she had took. He had a quick conversations with her while Klaus was busy with Marcel, but Caroline didn't show herself happy about the company, as usual.

"Finally I find you alone... You're always around with Nik playing the Beauty and the Beast." Kol said to her. "I must apologize with you for my joke about your boobs. I can't deny I've been thinking about doing what I said earlier, by the way." Putting his face between her boobs, that's what he had said. Caroline immediately saw the two girls who were waiting for Kol to come back with them.

"Well, it wasn't nice of you, Kol, but I think I can forgive you... Now you should learn that it isn't kind to make a girl wait, not to mention two girls!" She said referring to the women who couldn't stop looking at them. Kol turned to watch them.

"Don't mind to them, they're just hoes." He said. Caroline remained speechless and the desire to escape from Nik's little brother grew fast.

"I... I need to use the bathroom. _Don't_ follow me." She said, then she walked away towards the doorway to get in the garden. The area was illuminated by the light of some gothic street lamps. When Klaus saw her outside he reached her, he was still angry and worried about his sister. He wondered if there was something he could've done to avoid that situation, to keep Rebekah safe and far from Marcel. It was too late, thinking about the past wouldn't have solved the problem. Sometimes Klaus didn't seem to remember that his sister was a woman, not a girl anymore, he still thought she wasn't able to take decisions for herself. No one was ever enough for his little sister, not even Marcel, who was just a street boy who didn't deserve a Mikaelson as a wife.

"The gate is open, you didn't escape. Why? Some other people in this damned family wouldn't waste even a second to run away." He said. His deep voice broke the silence, Caroline sighed and she turned to watch him. He looked upset, yet she didn't want to ask him why, she had promised herself to stay out from the family dramas.

"I leave you alone for a minute and your mood drastically changes." She smiled softly, trying to make Klaus smile too. She liked the dimples that appeared on his cheeks when he did it. He was too concerned to let himself go, Caroline noticed it, so she came closer to him to put a little rose in the small pocket of his jacket. "It's beautiful out here." She said. Klaus kept his eyes on her, she had just showed him kindness, so he couldn't help himself from smiling looking at the flower she had left in his pocket. He took it and he placed it carefully behind her ear, then he kept staring at her in all her beauty. He kissed her cheek, he did it slowly, his lips stayed on her soft skin for a few moments before he moved back.

"Even though I have a certain ability in making you angry I'm afraid you became necessary to get me in a good mood, love." He admitted and Caroline smiled looking at the ground. Klaus, after a few moments of silence, got more serious. "I owe you an apology. This morning I acted carelessly, I shouldn't have ignored the sorrow that the idea of our wedding gives you. Believe me, Caroline, I felt your same anger towards my father, but now it's gone." He spoke. The girl slightly opened her mouth, she wasn't expecting apologizes from a man with that temper. "I don't want you to think that my interest towards you is just the result of Mikael's commands, If I wanted to ignore them I would, but I won't. I need you as my wife, Caroline, but I won't marry a woman who despises me." He said at the end. She was surprised, maybe also charmed by him. She knew she had to say something.

"I... I know this situation hasn't been easy to accept for you as well. You should have chosen a woman to love and seduce on your terms... But I don't want you to see me as a victim, I don't even want you to think that I despise you, because I don't. This is not what I was hoping for my future, truth to be told I've never thought about my marriage before, I..." She stopped to get closer to him, to find the right words while her hand caressed his face. "I'll do my best." She smiled, then she kissed his cheek just as he had done with her before. "Thank you for your honesty." Caroline needed that, she needed a little bit of truth in that hurricane of madness she had found herself into. "Now, since a wife should care about her husband's happiness... I heard there's a private party on the roof, there's even a pool. Would you come with me?" She asked with a cunning smile on her lips. Klaus proudly raised up his head, ready to accept the invitation, but a third voice interrupted them.

"Niklaus!" Elijah was calling him from the doorway, he saw the two of them and he waited for his brother to come back inside, he would have never requested his presence if it wasn't for something very important. Caroline took some steps back, hers and Klaus' intimacy had just been broken, again.

"I guess it's not our night." She assumed. Klaus sighed, annoyed by his intrusive family.

"Caroline, I'm sorry." He tried to justify himself. She would have learned soon that calm wasn't easy to find in the Mikaelson family, something always happened.

"It's ok, do what you have to do." She smiled again, letting him go to fulfill his obligations. She walked away, she came back in the house and she gave a glance to Elijah as she passed on his way. Klaus stayed still for a little bit, watching her go away from him, then as he reached his older brother he showed him his rage by using bad manners.

"What the hell is wrong with this family tonight?" He asked in an angry whisper.

"Perhaps you should tell me, since our sister is pretty mad at you for God knows what. She's in her room, I already tried to make her stop crying and screaming. Good luck with that, brother." Elijah flicked his brother's shoulder, then he came back to the party where Katherine was waiting for him, she had already got their two year old daughter, Nadia, to sleep. Klaus remained at the door, then he sighed again and he walked towards Rebekah's room; it was time to solve things with his sister.

* * *

**Hey guys! This chapter was a little longer than the others, hope you like it. :) Thank you so much for your reviews, keep sending them!**

**- I & F. **


	5. V chapter

**Bad blood - **_5th chapter_

The jazz music couldn't let the guests hear Rebekah's crying. She was in her room, alone, and she knew what Klaus had told Marcel that night. Her brother had threatened to kill the man she loved and her lover had revealed her that he knew what he had to do, he hadn't given her any other explanations. When Elijah informed Klaus about Rebekah's mood he immediately went upstairs to reach his sister, the door of her room was locked. When the blonde girl heard somebody knocking she raised her head from the pillow, her make up was ruined and her cheeks were still wet because of the tears she was still crying.

"Go away!" She screamed in rage, even thought she had no idea who was on the other side of the door. Anyway she was sure about one thing: it wasn't Marcel, so why would she had cared? The only man she had ever truly loved wasn't allow to marry her because of her mad brother, she was carrying a bastard child of which nobody knew anything about except for the father, her baby's life was in danger as Marcel's one was and it was all her fault. She had trusted Klaus, she had hoped to find inside of him the boy she still remembered in her mind, the sweet and kind one. Life had changed him in the last years, sometimes she could barely recognized him and it gave her a pain difficult to handle. Klaus didn't give up, he knocked his fist against the wood of the door again.

"Open the door, Rebekah!" He shouted. It was him, Rebekah thought that behind that door stood up the personification of her biggest fear. She took a deep breath. It was time to face him, she was ready to do it for the love of the child she was carrying. She wasn't the little Bekah anymore, soon she would have become a mother and her priority was to guarantee to her son - or daughter, she hoped - happiness. She walked towards the door and she did as Klaus had ordered her, she opened it and she took some steps back for her own safety. Klaus came in, they were alone in the room. She felt a great amount of wrath that forced her to throw herself against her bother and to start hitting his chest, she did it again and again, crying.

"You, bastard asshole! I love him, I love Marcel!" The words came out from her mouth, Klaus tried to stop her by grabbing her arms and her wrists but she was too pissed to be controlled. She managed to escape from his hands and to scratch his cheek. He felt the pain, his sister's nails had cut his skin. They both stopped for several moments, the silence was tense. Rebekah stepped back, she knew something terrible was going to happen to her after that affront. Klaus touched the three scratches on his face and he saw the blood on his fingers, then he looked at Rebekah. His was a wrathful glance. As he walked closer to her he took her by her arm and he slapped her. Rebekah's pale cheek immediately got the reddish mark of Klaus' hand. His strength forced her to turn her face, she felt humiliated and insulted. Klaus took her by her chin and he made her look him in the eyes before to speak.

"He doesn't deserve you, sister. He's just a street boy who will never guarantee you a safe future. Get him off your mind." He ordered.

"How can you speak about him like this? He is your friend!" She tried to appeal to his humanity, to his feelings. Marcel had been Klaus' friend once, but following the man's logic he had betrayed him and his whole family by sneaking inside Rebekah's bad without permission.

"I showed him mercy by not killing him tonight! I've been kind to you, I've forgiven what's unforgivable!" He was inflexible. As he spoke Rebekah kept shaking her head crying all her tears. She couldn't stop asking herself why. Why wasn't she allowed to feel the happiness, why her brother didn't let her live her life with the man she cared about? She pushed him away finding again her determination.

"You're a monster... You will never find true love because you're incapable to feel something different from hate, wrath and resentment! I pity that poor girl who has to marry a beast!" Klaus' face was now visibly hurt. "Maybe Marcel is just a street boy, maybe he is not rich and he doesn't own a castle... but he is still a better man than you." She told him her truth, nothing but her truth. Rebekah was the only woman who could break the armor he built around himself to be immune to the pain. She was, maybe, the only one he had ever cared about. He came a little bit closer to her.

"If I see him hanging around with you again, I will kill him... and you will be guilty for his death." Klaus spoke his last words to Rebekah, he didn't reply to any of her insults, maybe because he knew there was nothing to say in his defense. After a deep glance he turned around to leave the room. Rebekah locked the door again, there was no hope for his brother's soul anymore, there was no hope for the child she was carrying.

* * *

Klaus spent the last hours at the party, he drank until he got drunk enough to drown all his sorrow, all his pain. Everything seemed easier with the help of the bourbon. He didn't see Caroline again, that night. The girl had left to rest in her room after a little chat with Katherine, she didn't know the majority of the guests and the best way to avoid Kol was to not be seen by him. She slept well for the first time after days, Klaus' words had given her a little bit of peace. She was starting to accept the whole situation, the man who was still a stranger to her had shown her kindness and maybe their marriage could have worked. Klaus was mad, confused, tired. When a beautiful red head woman spoke to him at the bar he looked at her and he realized she was an old friend, Genevieve. How to forget her? She was pretty _friendly_ andshe had some secret skills when it came to sex, Klaus knew it well. He didn't refused her advances, at the end of the night he brought her in his room and the passion prevailed on everything else. He used the woman's body to pour out all he had kept inside for too long, his violence pleased the girl, it made her scream out loud until they both fell asleep naked under the blanket of the bed. Late in the morning Genevieve's kisses woke Klaus up. She was softly pressing her lips on his back, she was smiling. He opened his eyes, he looked around himself confused and he realized that the sun had already raised over New Orleans and Genevieve had stayed in that room for too long.

"Good morning, my king." She whispered. Klaus didn't say a word, he stood up to take his clothes from the floor and he wore his underwear and trousers. He was worried, it wasn't his intention to let her stay for the night but their tiredness had forced them to fall asleep in the same bed. If somebody of the family saw her dramas would have started. "Why so much haste?" Genevieve asked smiling and sitting, she didn't even try to cover her breast.

"It's time for you to leave." He replied in a strict tone of voice while he was buttoning up his trousers. Genevieve was good with sex but she was stubborn, it wasn't easy to get rid of her. She didn't move from her position, her eyes stayed on him.

"Is it because your little wife?" She asked keeping that nasty smile on her pretty face. She was of an exquisite beauty; pale skin, slim body, long red hair and wonderful blue eyes. Yet, she was nothing but a friend for Klaus, they used to end up in bed together but their intentions weren't serious. He walked towards her with no shirt on, he knelt on the bed and he caressed her face looking her in the eyes from his height. Nothing sweet his behind his actions, he was just sex starved.

"I said... It's time for you to leave." He repeated, his words started to sound like a threaten and Genevieve couldn't help herself from getting lustful again, she wanted him, she wanted to feel him close to her again, just like during the night they had just spent together. Klaus felt the same desire, it was hard to say "no" to a woman like that, yet he knew what was the right thing to do and a part of him didn't want to make the same mistake again. Yes, he saw his night of sex with Genevieve as a big mistake. The red head girl placed her hand against his abdomen, right before he could do or say something, somebody opened the door of the room and Caroline stepped in holding a plate in her hand. A woman was in his bed, a _wonderful_ woman was touching the man she had ingenuously thought was hers. She felt the need to throw up, but that was just a horrible sensation. She felt betrayed, hurt, angry. In a moment she realized that all the words she had heard coming out from Klaus' mouth the night before were just lies, stupid and unforgivable lies. He was an asshole, she was a stupid little girl who still believed to assholes' promises. Klaus didn't speak, he took some steps back to put a distance between him and Genevieve, who covered herself with the white blanket. Her smile was still there, it made Caroline feel even worst. She did her best to not show her feelings, after that silence she walked towards the table of the room to leave there the plate she was holding.

"Here's your breakfast." She said, then she returned to the door to go away.

"Caroline... wait." Klaus tried to say, the blonde girl didn't stop and he followed her out in the hallway of the first floor, nobody was there. "Caroline, please, let me explain." He said again. Was there something to explain? Caroline's eyes had seen enough, she had no intention to listen to him. She kept walking in order to reach her room again until he took her by her arm and he turned her to see her face. She didn't try to hide herself from him, even though she was trying hard to show no emotions. She wasn't the one who had to feel ashame. "I... I'm sorry. I made a mistake." He pronounced the words he had never said to anyone before. Why was he doing it? Because he cared about her, and it was pointless and absurd since he had just slept with another woman. Everything they were doing and feeling was illogical. They were just strangers who had been knowing each other for no longer than three damned days, yet her jealousy was strong and her pride didn't let her be impassive to that story.

"Hey, hey, what's happening here?" Kol got there and he watched the scene feeling the tension, he was Klaus holding Caroline' wrist and he took some steps ahead to make him stop acting so arrogantly with a woman. Klaus pointed his finger at him.

"Stay back, Kol, this is none of your business." He said threatening him to stay right where he was and to not make a move. Kol stayed back, he knew Klaus and he knew how insane he got when things didn't go as he wanted. Genevieve kept her back against the jamb of Klaus' bedroom door, she enjoyed the view from where she was.

"Caroline... give me another chance." Klaus begged the girl. She pulled back her hand to not let him touch her, she barely could believe to what she was hearing. Klaus knew that Caroline was for him the way to get what he had always wanted: power. His interests wasn't just purely sentimental, he wanted that marriage to please Mikael and to get the power over the family and over New Orleans. He needed his wife, he needed Caroline to give his father a male grandchild who would have kept alive the name of the family. Caroline slapped him in the face, disgusted by his arrogance and his persistence.

"Even if I must marry you but I'm not intended to believe to even one of all your bullshits anymore. I've never asked you to pretend for me, I don't need you to make things look easier. You're such an asshole..." She said. Her words were filled with hate and anger. Klaus didn't speak, he listened to her and he didn't respond to the slap, he knew he deserved it. Nobody had ever hit him without getting punished for that. When Caroline looked at Genevieve she saw how beautiful she was, she realized that it was getting hard to hold back the tears. "It's not nice to make a girl wait, Klaus." Those were the last words she said to him before to turn and walk until she got to her room. She locked the door, she sat on the bed and just two tears streamed down her face. She didn't want to be weak. _Don't be stupid, Caroline._ She thought.

As Klaus returned in his room Genevieve followed him and she saw how sad and pissed he was. He was sitting on his bed with his hands in his hair. She couldn't hide her satisfaction, she didn't like that pretty little blonde bride, she was envy because Caroline was going to get the man she had never truly had. The woman came closer to Klaus and she caressed his face.

"Hey... Looks like somebody needs of comfort." She whispered, but Klaus didn't look her in the eyes.

"Leave me alone." He said. Genevieve didn't mind his wish, she knelt between his legs and she tried to unbutton his trousers. Klaus stopped her. "Stop it." He said again. She didn't, she didn't stop, she couldn't. She freed her hands from his grab and she touched him again, Klaus showed her his rage by putting his hand around her throat and by pushing her against the wall, Genevieve was trapped between it and his body. Breathing became harder, he was trying to strangle her. She couldn't say or do nothing, for a moment she thought that she was going to die by his hand. "I don't like being disobeyed, and when I say you must leave... you must leave." He whispered to her before to let her go. She barely stayed on her feet, she coughed trying to breathe again and her eyes got full of fear. Klaus sat again on the bed, he ignored her. She quickly grabbed all her things again, she was leaving for good. Right before to get out of the room she gave him a last glance.

"You're such an asshole, Nik. Don't ever call me again." She said.

* * *

Kol didn't try to follow Caroline in her room, she seemed to be pissed and somehow he thought she wanted to be left alone. He smoke a cigarette alone, he watched the street from his window thinking about the story of the marriage. He didn't want to marry that girl, he was just twenty three and he couldn't imagine himself as an husband and maybe, in the next months, even as a father. He didn't have his first love yet, he enjoyed the company of whores but he had never felt something for a girl. His aim was to sleep with Caroline as well, but he had no intention to steal the wife to his brother. Klaus liked her, he couldn't explain himself why, but he seemed to be interested in that union. Kol's youth gave him a genuine naivety, sometimes he was a dick but he wasn't cunning as Klaus was, he didn't think about the power, he didn't care about it and he still thought that that marriage was an heart affair. When he got out from his room he saw Caroline's door open, she was somewhere in the house, so he started to look for her until he found her on the roof with Katherine and Nadia, the girls were getting a tan under the rays of sunlight.

"Are you nervous, Care?" Katherine asked her putting some baby sun cream on Nadia's little face, she was sitting on Caroline's belly while she was playing with the hands of the blonde girl. Caroline was watching her smiling, she was also trying to hide her concern. She didn't want to think about Klaus anymore, yet it was harder than she expected.

"I'm not. Do I love nervous?" She asked to the brunette. Katherine carefully looked at her, she understood that something was wrong, so she decided that it wasn't wise to insist. She curved her lips a little bit.

"Just an impression, perhaps." She replied. Caroline appreciated it, she didn't want to talk about what had happened, but Kol couldn't help himself from talking, talking too much as he was used to do. He walked towards the girl, they didn't notice him until they both heard the sound of his voice.

"Of course she is nervous, she just saw Klaus fucking one his whores." He smiled and he went to sit on Caroline's sun bed, he took her legs to massage them, but the girl immediately pulled them back to not be touched. Kol didn't make a big deal about it, he knew how she liked being unwilling. "Did I already tell you how I love your swimsuits? Why don't you two take them off to get a better tan?" He joked as he always did. Their swimsuits weren't that uncovered, they left lots to the imagination, they just looked like really tight little dresses.

"To hope is a positive thing, Kol." Katherine fooled him, letting him understand that nobody was getting naked there. The guy took Nadia in his arms, Katherine gave Caroline a pitiful glance. "I'm sorry... Klaus is just a selfish ass." She told her. Caroline pressed her lips and she nodded.

"Thanks Katherine, but you don't have to pity me, I understood what kind of person he is before it was too late to do it." In the meantime Kol played with her niece, she was just two years old but she was a clever girl.

"You're a lucky girl, Nadia, you have the most handsome uncle of the city. Isn't this true?" Kol asked her, smiling sure of his words. He was pretty egocentric. The child looked his face and she appeared uncertain, then she slowly shook her head to say _no,_ Kol's smile vanished away and Katherine and Caroline laughed at him. In that moment Caroline realized she was starting to like his humor, he was funny, he had just freed her mind from the thought of Klaus and his red head bitch.

"I'm sorry Kol, babies say nothing but the truth." The blonde said to joke and to provoke his ego. Kol didn't smile again, he pretended to be still angry at his niece and the baby girl hugged him.

"Wow, now you hug me? I'm no longer speaking to you until you tell me I'm handsome, Nadia. I'm not joking." Nadia laughed and she looked him again with a naughty smile.

"You're ugly, uncle Kol." She said again. Katherine was proud of her, the two girls laughed and Esther heard all the racket as she got to the roof holding magazines to read in her hands.

"What makes you laugh so much, girls?" She asked, Nadia immediately extended her arms towards her grandmother to be held by her, so Esther didn't wait to take her in her arms. She loved that child as they all did in the family, she was the only baby of the house and Elijah and Katherine represented the perfect couple to everyone's eyes.

"Nadia just refused Kol's advances." Katherine spoke proudly, Caroline instead stood up and she walked towards the pool to swim. Kol didn't wait a minute before to follow her, but first he started to undress himself and he touched the first button of his white shirt with his fingers.

"Do you ladies wanna see a streeptease?" He asked, Katherine immediately covered Nadia's eyes and her facial expression got disgusted. Caroline couldn't stop laughing. "When was the last time you saw a six pack, mom?" Esther patiently shook her head, Kol kept taking off his clothes and Caroline appreciated the view. "I'm not sure I remembered to put underwear on this morning!" He warned them, then he took off his trousers letting the women see his butt, he had underwear on.

"Kol, please, wear at least a tank top!" Esther tried to convince his son, but there was nothing to do to change his mind. In the 20's not even men used to go to the beach shirtless. He got in the pool and he immediately bothered Caroline by splashing cold water at her. She screamed, yet she didn't allow him to win and she defended herself by doing the same to him. Kol hugged her after a little fight, Caroline's back was against his chest and his arms surrounded her body. They both kept laughing and smiling until they calmed down.

"So I can warm you up." He said to justify their contact.

"Kol... don't." She replied without hiding her smile.

"What? Listen... I know you like Klaus, just a fool wouldn't notice it. I'm just saying that maybe you might get your revenge on him by making him jealous. You should use me. It would be fun!" He suggested. Caroline didn't even take it under consideration, she rolled her eyes.

"It would be fun... and childish!" She replied, then she turned to look him in the eyes. "I don't need a revenge, Kol. I don't give to Klaus so much credit." She explained. Kol knew it wasn't true, he thought that she was just trying to hide her real torment. Klaus had broke her trust, she was angry, but she wasn't angry because of him, she was angry because of her: she had trusted him way too easily. In the meantime Katherine didn't keep the secret with Esther, she needed to know what had happened between his second born son and Caroline.

"Klaus." The brunette said getting her mother in law's attention. "This morning Caroline followed your advice, she brought breakfast to Klaus and she found him in bed with one of his hoes." She said everything and Esther appeared calm at first, she kept looking at Kol and Caroline with a soft smile on her lips. She had seen Klaus with the red head woman the night before at the bar during the party, she blamed herself for letting him spending his time with a whore. She stood up and she left her magazines on the sun bed, then she gave Nadia to Katherine again.

"It's time for me to have a little chat with my son." She said and they both smiled to each other. Katherine loved to see Klaus getting in troubles, they didn't really hate each other but there was bad blood between them. Esther left the roof to walk towards Klaus' room. His son didn't leave home that morning, he was still in his bed reading the last pages of _This Side of Paradise, _written by a new writer called Francis Scott Fitzgerald. He was starting to enjoy his style, he could almost find himself in that book. He was not expecting visits, so when somebody knocked to his door he waited before to answer.

"Come in." He said. As he saw his mother he sat with composure at the side of the bed, he wore just a pair of black trousers and a tank top, but Esther had three male sons and Klaus was one of them, her favorie one, she didn't get easily scandalized. The woman looked around herself, she thought that that room was such a big mess. Klaus was pretty sure she knew everything about the scandal of the day, secrets didn't last much in that family. He sarcasticallysmiled. "C'mon, pronounce your imputation." He was ready. His mother sat by his side and her eyes stayed on his face.

"You should've not drink so much, you're a charming man and it's not hard to believe that a woman doesn't hesitate to get in your bed." She said, then the silence prevailed. "I know you don't love her, Niklaus, but you have to marry her." She caressed his face with her right hand, Klaus looked her in the eyes. "You know better than me the benefits that this marriage will give you." She was cunning as much as Klaus was, that was the reason why she cared about him more than how much she cared about her other children.

"It will give me the control over this family and over the city." He replied, his mother smiled proudly. She wanted him to get what he wanted in life, she wanted to see him in charge. With the police on his side thanks to Caroline, the control of the import of merchandise coming from the other continents thanks to the port and the control over the import of drugs from the south he would have had everything he needed to rule. Esther stood up to reach the door, but first she said other few things.

"Make her forgive you." Klaus nodded, Esther walked and she stopped again. "And Niklaus... I don't want to see you with one of those whores again, not even with Genevieve. I hope I made myself clear."

"You did, mom." He replied. They both wanted the same thing, he wasn't willing to renounce to everything he had ever wanted just to fuck some sluts. The woman didn't miss the chance to speak to Caroline too before dinner, in the kitchen. Katherine was there with them, that girl never minded her business. Esther wanted to encourage a reconciliation between the blonde and her son, she didn't think Kol was a good choice for Caroline, he was too young and Niklaus needed that union more than anyone.

"So... I heard about your fight with Niklaus." She said while they were cooking the last dishes. Caroline didn't really want to speak about that, but Esther was pretty despotic and truth to be told there was something that frightened her in that woman. She looked more dangerous than her husband and that said a lot.

"Esther, I know this situation affects everyone of you, but there is nothing to say. This is just a marriage of interest, I don't expect nothing from him even though..." Esther took her by her hand before she could finish talking and the young girl gave her a confused glance. She wondered why everyone in that family seemed to care so much about that story. She wasn't saying she had no intention to marry Klaus, she had to do it in order to not sentence her parents to death, so what was the big deal?

"Caroline, I understand you, I just ask you to not be so harsh with him. My son has always been a little bit stubborn and complicated, even when he was just a kid." Caroline sarcastically smiled._  
_

"A little bit?" She asked repeating Esther's words, the woman laughed.

"Niklaus doesn't easily open himself to emotions, but when he does he loves unconditionally. Give him time." Esther's tone got sweeter, Caroline sighed. "

"I don't care about what he does. He could bring in his bed a whole whorehouse, I would still not care." She knew she was telling nothing but lies, Caroline cared about it, it cared because she was proud and competitive. Everytime Genevieve's face came in her mind she remembered how beautiful that woman was and she hated herself for caring so much about an asshole stranger.

"Listen, honey. You're smart, you're beautiful, none of his whores will ever have a fraction of your values. As wives we all make some sacrifices, our job is to be smart enough to not let them hurt us. Do you understand me?" Caroline appreciated her interest, she truly did, but it was hard to trust anyone in that family after that morning. She nodded, she was sure she had understood what the woman was trying to tell her. Esther smiled, then she let Caroline's hand go. "Now we can eat." She said at the end and the three of them, even Katherine, appeared happier since dinner was ready.

* * *

Elijah did all the work alone that day, since his brother gave himself a vacation. At the beginning he didn't know why Klaus didn't join him and their father to the meeting with all the most important people of the city. There were decisions to take about the port, the Lockwood family kept demanding in, the control over the ships had been theirs before the first world war and after years they still thought that the Mikaelson family was willing to give up to a point of so much importance for the commerce. Four were the families who ruled the city: at the top of them all the Mikaelson, affiliated to the Salvatore by a blood bond - Esther was a Salvatore, the daughter of a dead Sicilian boss - then there were the Petrova, Katherine's family, the affiliation with the Mikaelson depended on Elijah's and Katerina's marriage. And at the end the Lockwood, old enemies who were interested to the politic of New Orleans, they were rich and acclaimed, just a few knew about their corruption. Elijah noticed the tense air at the family dinner, after that he asked Klaus for explanations and his younger brother told him everything about his fight with Caroline. They drank a glass of bourbon together before to go to bed, Elijah suggested him to take the girl out for some fun, he also told him to buy her flowers, they always worked, or at least they worked with Katherine. When he got to bedroom he saw his wife lulling Nadia to sleep, he smiled and he walked towards the little girl to leave a soft kiss on her forehead, Nadia's big and dark eyes looked him, she was tired and Elijah immediately understood it. The two parents didn't say a word to not disturb their little girl's sleepiness, usually it was hard to convince her to rest during the night, she had begun smart enough to climb her crib to reach the big bed and sleep with her mom and her dad. Elijah put on some comfortable clothes and he remained shirtless to go to bed, he kept looking at Katherine with a smile on his face, thinking about how much he loved that woman.

"Is she sleeping?" He asked as he saw Katherine putting Nadia in the crib.

"Yes, she was tired. You should've seen her today with Kol. He asked her if she found him handsome and she said _no_." She laughed softly, everytime she spoke about Nadia her eyes got bright. Elijah smiled imagining the scene in his head, then he wondered what his wife thought about the whole Klaus and Caroline thing. He wasn't particularly interested in that marriage story, yet he was curious and he knew that his Katerina always knew anything about anyone.

"Have you heard about the Klaus and Caroline drama?" He couldn't help himself from being ironic. After two years of conjugal life and nineteen years in a complicated relationship with his beloved Katerina, he was pretty sure he knew something about love and watching his brother trying hard to make things work with a girl was extremely fun. Yes, Katherine and Elijah have been knowing each other for a lifetime, when they were sixteen the thing between them started and it got more serious by the passage of time.

"Of course I have, and I know every detail. Your mother spoke to Caroline before dinner to save his little Klaus' ass. You know, as she always does when it comes to your brother." She said making Elijah smile even more, his wife had never liked Klaus as Klaus had never liked Katherine, he saw her as a threat, maybe because she was cunning enough to predict every single move he made. Kath lay down on the bed, she wore just a sexy black nightgown. Elijah let her place her head against his shoulder while his hand caressed her arm. "Esther should understand that you are better than him." She referred to Klaus.

"Katerina, you know it's not worth competing against Niklaus." He replied and she smiled touching his lips with her finger.

"Your brother turned out to be a real asshole, we all know he like whores but he could have kept it in his pants after last night. Caroline trusted him and he slept with that Gen... Gen something." Elijah laughed and he kissed Katherine's lips.

"He does what he does, I stopped looking for the reasons behind his actions a long time ago." He said.

"I think they will solve this mess, I also think they should do just _one thing_ to make all the problems go away." They both smiled, Elijah kissed her again, he knew exactly what she was talking about and truth to be told he was sure she was right. Sex was the best answer to all the questions.

"The same thing we should do right now, in this bed." He whispered making her laugh, then he put himself on the top of her and they started to kiss passionately, Katherine caressed his back, Elijah touched her body and he started to move slowly to let their desire grow. He took off her panties, she remained in her nightgown, her legs were tight around his waist. Their breaths got faster and deeper, Katherine wanted him, she started to hate him for making her wait so much. She wanted to show how much she had missed him during that day. Elijah pushed himself inside of her and she moaned softly, they had to be quiet to not wake Nadia up. Sex was different when you became a parent, sometimes there wasn't even time to take all the clothes off but Elijah and Katherine didn't care, they loved each other and those moments between them weren't just the result of the passion and the desire to feel the pleasure, they were the result of their love. They stayed close in the same position, he could sense her breath on his neck, sometimes they looked in the eyes and they seemed to speak by using just the deep glances they shared.

"I love you, Elijah." Katherine whispered near his ear as they both lay under the white blanket of the bed to sleep. His arms surrounded his wife's body, he didn't tell her that he loved her too, Elijah didn't use words when the silence and the actions could speak for themselves.

* * *

**Hello everyone! We updated it very quickly since we got lots of beautiful reviews the last time. It's really important to us to see how you respond to the chapters. Well, lots of things happened so tell us your opinion! :) I got a review that asked if any other character of the show is going to appear and the answer is yes, you'll see Tyler and Hayley for sure. BTW follow us on twitter and we'll follow back: **

**Me (Ilaria): imstormborn**

**Federica: shesraindrops**


	6. VI chapter

**Bad blood** - _6th chapter_

Things didn't get easier as the time passed. After two days of silence between them, Klaus and Caroline kept being evasive one another. Caroline's pride was still hurt, even though she didn't want admit it to herself. Klaus knew what his duty was, he knew how that marriage was important to him and to his position in that family, yet when he tried to get close to his future wife she didn't miss the change to despise him. He was starting to get tired of the snobbish attitude of that girl, but he was too proud to stop trying. She represented a challenge to him, they both knew it, they knew also that the hard period they were going through was a natural process for their relationship. Katherine tried to persuade Caroline to forgive Klaus, even if she didn't like him that much she was pretty sure that he was a better choice than Kol. Kol, on the other hand, took advantage of the situation to replace his brother in Caroline's heart, or at least he tried. He spent enough time with her to make her start to like his humor. Esther wasn't calm at all, the concern for the possible failure of Klaus was strong, as it wasn't enough Rebekah gave her troubles. Her daughter had stopped eating, she acted weird, she looked constantly sad. Her mother knew it was all because of Marcel, she believed Klaus had taken the right decision by making them stop seeing each other. Every night before bed he locked his little sister in her room to make sure she didn't run away to meet her lover. Rebekah missed Marcel as much as Marcel missed her, they didn't have lot of time anymore, the baby would have started growing soon and to hide the belly would have got harder day by day.

That night before dinner Caroline and Katherine had worn different clothes, they had cut a tablecloth to tie a band around their heads, they both had a large white shirt and a long skirt. They let down their hair and they didn't answer to anybody's question. Caroline sat still between Klaus and Kol, during the dinner she didn't say a word to Klaus. When Katherine stood up they all looked at her.

"Before the dessert Nadia would like to present you her show." She said smiling at her little child, who appeared amused. Caroline did the same, she left her place to stand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, she's going to become a new Hollywood star after tonight." Katherine smiled at Caroline's words, they took Nadia's hands to help her reaching the stage, a large wood beam where the little girl stood with a naughty smile on her face. Everybody waited to see what she was going to do.

"Uncle Kol, be quiet!" She shouted at her uncle putting her finger against her mouth as she saw Kol speaking before her performance. As Caroline counted to three Nadia started singing out loud a French song - Caroline had taught her the words -, her mother's and Caroline's help seemed to be unnecessary, she had enough self confidence. She even started dancing in a clumsy way making everyone laugh. She fell down on the beam a couple of times but she didn't seem to care that much, when the song ended they all applauded and Mikael took her granddaughter in his arms to kiss her cheek.

"This is why I love being a grandpa! If only my sons weren't a bunch of lazy idiots and gave me other grandchildren..." He said referring, of course, to the male heir he craved for. Elijah didn't mind his words, he didn't want to. He knew Mikael needed a grandson for the name of the family and he wasn't going to give him another criminal who would have risked his life daily as him and his brothers did. Kol was still too young to have kids, Klaus was the only one left and they were all aware of that. Caroline smiled watching with her own eyes the affection they all shared for the family.

"I'm going to take a jacket in my room, it's getting cold." She said. Esther's eyes followed her as she went upstairs, then the woman who sat at the head of the table got closer to her second born son, Klaus, who was right beside her.

"She is going to be the perfect mother to your children." She whispered to him.

"Or for Kol's." Klaus replied in a skeptical tone of voice. Esther's face got nervous.

"Don't say that, not even for joke." She ordered. In the meantime Kol left his chair to follow Caroline upstair without she could know about it. Klaus felt a certain anger growing inside his body. His eyes stopped on Rebekah, his little sister was sitting in front of him. She hadn't drink wine that night, pretty weird.

"Would you like to taste wine, little sister?" He asked pouring the red liquid in his own glass. Rebekah shaked her head after a moment of tense silence. She still hated Klaus for what he was doing to her. "Nonsense. You love wine, drink." He repeated pouring it in her glass as well. He kept starring at her, just as it was a test. Rebekah didn't move a finger, she kept thinking about what to do and what to say to not let him think she was hiding something.

"I said I don't want to, Nik." She tried to convince his brother to let it go. Klaus wasn't going to accept any of her excuses. He was suspecting something.

"Drink." He commanded her. They shared a glance full of hate, then their mother intervened.

"She said she doesn't want to drink wine, Niklaus. Don't be so rude to your sister. If I were you I would worry about something else..." Esther pointed Kol's empty chair with her glance to bring Nik's attention where it had to be. She was pretty sure her daughter was hiding a big secret, a secret that she knew very well. The anger shined through Klaus' eyes, it was time to put Kol back to his place. He stood up and he got to the stairs to reach the second floor and, of course, Caroline's room.

Kol appeared at the door, when Caroline turned to come back to the dinner she saw him and she jumped, scared by the unexpected presence of another person there, she hadn't hear his steps coming towards her. The young man laughed, amused by the effect he had produced in his new blonde love interest.

"C'mon, am I that ugly?" He asked with his usual cunning smile. He was just joking, his ego didn't allow him to think he was ugly, sometimes when he looked at his image reflected in the mirror he was afraid to fall in love with himself. Caroline smiled, truth to be told she didn't always like his attitude, Kol was funny and sometimes also sweet, but other times he looked just like a mad little boy capable of doing anything to get what he wanted, and she knew that what he wanted was to have sex with her, that didn't help her to relax.

"You must stop appearing like this! Let's go eating the dessert." She walked to get out of the room but he stopped her by taking her arm.

"Wait, I just wanted to congratulate with the co-star of the show." He smiled again, Caroline didn't move when he got closer and closer until his lips touched hers. She was confused, Kol, Klaus' little brother, was kissing her. His tongue played with hers in slow moves, his hands touched her hips and Caroline felt that everything they were doing was wrong. She pushed him away placing her hands on his chest.

"No, I can't..." She murmured trying to find the right words to say. She stopped thinking as her eyes saw Klaus. He was standing right out of the door of her room, he had seen them and she could understand it by the anger she glimpsed in his look. Kol turned to see what she was looking at and he took some steps back as he realized that his older brother was there. He had many reasons to fear for his own life.

"Nik, wait, let me explain..." Kol started. Klaus didn't wait to hear his words, he wasn't going to believe to one of his lies. He walked towards his brother and he punched him in the face before Caroline could put a distance between him and Kol. The girl brought her hands to her mouth in a reaction of shock, Klaus grabbed Kol to push him against the wall and to keep holding the limps of his white shirt.

"She is mine." Klaus spoke in a whisper of anger, near to Kol's face. He kneed him to his stomach forcing him to fall to the ground, Kol didn't have time to defend himself from the wrath of his brother who started to kick him. Klaus wasn't honest, he wasn't fair, he didn't care about the honor in a fight. If his enemy was unable to stand and respond he would have never kept himself from doing what he had to do: to give him pain.

"Klaus, stop! Please! You're hurting him, stop!" Caroline did her best to push Klaus away, to hold him and to distract him. She failed, she wasn't strong enough to physically stand against a man. When she placed herself between him and Kol to stop the fight, Kol stood again and he punched Klaus, they both didn't mind to the words that Caroline kept shouting. Her screams drew there Elijah, who immediately divided his brothers by placing his hands on Klaus' shoulders to make him step back.

"Stop, Niklaus. Look at me, stop... You did enough." He said slowly to bring Klaus' attention on him. Esther and Katherine ran to help Kol, his face was covered with his own blood.

"Now stop! Look what you've done to your brother!" Esther showed her authority while taking care of her youngest son. Katherine helped Kol to walk away, she brought him in another room, far from Klaus. When Esther's eyes stopped on Caroline the woman walked towards her and she pointed a finger against the blonde girl. "Listen very carefully, child. I don't care how long it will take before you'll forgive Niklaus for what he has done, you will marry him either way, but don't you dare to turn my sons one against the other or I swar to God you'll pay for this. Have I made myself clear?" Caroline understood why she feared that woman so much, she was way worse than her husband. At first she felt a big anger inside, then she felt the need to cry but she kept the tears hidden. Esther walked away without waiting for an anwer, she wasn't used to get answers by the one she threatened. Klaus got rid of Elijah, his brother left the room and when he remained alone with Caroline the silence prevailed, a silence that Caroline broke.

"You're pathetic. How can you say that, how can you say I'm yours? A marriage is built on respect and duties!" She shouted at him. Klaus brought his eyes on her and he appeared sarcastic.

"Duties... I see how you're respecting yours by kissing my brother!" He replied pointing a finger against her. Caroline hysterically smiled and she brought her hands to her mouth, as she wanted to keep herself from speaking.

"I'm not going to waste another word with you." She murmured. Klaus got even more angry.

"Fine, then shut up!" He commanded, as he was used to do. Caroline, hearing his insolence, felt the need to speak again. Klaus was the most annoying person she had ever met, he had all the flaws she hated in a man. He was arrogant, sexist and awful, yet he had something, a charm, that forced her mind to think about him constantly. Some women were stupid because they tought they could change their men, she wasn't. She perfectly knew that her man was impossible to change, but she wanted him to understand that she wasn't one of his hoes who shut up when he said they had to shut up. She was impossible to changed too.

"Don't tell me what I have to do!" She screamed and Klaus rolled his while he walked to let the tension fade away. "Why did you do that? Why did you beat Kol? There was no need to fight, I had already told him to stop, you..."

"I did it because he touched you, you should show me your gratitude instead of making a drama." He immediately replied.

"I should show you my gratitude, seriously? You'll get my gratitude and my respect when you'll deserve it!" She said. Klaus took suddenly took a lamp to throw it against the wall, Caroline jumped, then she did the same; she grabbed a little box full of jewellery and she throw it away making everything fall to the ground. "Do you want to destroy everything in this room? Fine, have fun!" She kept provoking his rage. Klaus walked towards her, Caroline took some steps back, he had a darkness in his eyes that made him look even more dangerous than usual.

"I swear to God that if your infidelity will humiliate me again, Kol's face won't be the only one covered in blood." He threatened her. He believed he could do it, he believe he could beat her without feeling regret, he was wrong. He realised it when he tried to imagine himself doing it in that right moment. He had no repect for women, but he had respect for Caroline. Sometimes he did wrong things, he made her suffer, but it didn't mean he didn't care about her. He just had to fix things inside his head before to fix things with his future wife. Caroline couldn't believe what she had just heard, she didn't want to believe that the man she had to marry was a monster capable of hurting her. She tried hard to hide the fear, just to face him and to show him that it wouldn't been easy to rule a woman like her.

"Then go ahead, show yourself how strong you are, beat me, be violent! You will just help me consolidating the hate I still can't feel towards you and that I felt when I saw you with that woman! And don't you dare telling me that it was just a mistake, it wasn't! You knew what you were doing, you knew which words you told me that same night! I had believed those words, how do you think I felt?" Klaus proudly raised up his head, even if his face showed a shade of remorse. Hurting Caroline had never been in his plans, Genevieve had been nothing but a mistake he was not going to make again.

"I already told you that I'm sorry." He spoke slowly, then the came again and he sighed. "I slept with a whore, you kissed my brother... we're even." He tried to find a solution to their fight. He wanted to fix things, he desperately wanted to, and he still hoped Caroline someday would have found the truth behind the words he had told her. The girl kept looking at the floor, when Klaus carefully placed his hands on her shoulder she felt how warm they were and the trembled a little bit. "C'mon, love... are you going to not speak me again for the rest of our marriage?" He asked, trying to persuade her to say something. Caroline took her time, she knew what she wanted to do, she wanted to give him his damned second chance and she felt stupid for that. She looked him in the eyes, Klaus got lost in hers. She was beautiful, he felt guilty for hurting a so wonderful creature.

"Don't make fun of me again." Her request was an order she pronounced slowly, Klaus pressed his lips.

"I won't... I promise." He replied. The storm had gone, the fight they just had left its place to the deep calm.

"As you can see diplomacy works sometimes, so please, stop fighting with your brother. Kol didn't deserve that and he will never try to do again what he did tonight." Caroline tried to defend Kol and Klaus sighed, it wasn't easy for him to forgive something like that.

"Now you're asking for too much, love." He said. Caroline rebuked him with her eyes.

"Klaus." She whispered his name, hoping to make him change is mind.

"Fine! But i'm doing it for you." He replied. Caroline couldn't smile, but she felt truly relieved and she was happy to see the first improvements in their relationship. Klaus suddenly got closer to her, his hands were still on her shoulders, she started watching his lips, they looked soft. For a moment she asked herself how it would have felt to kiss them. She saw them curving in a naughty smile. "When I'll be the one to kiss you I'll make sure you won't easily forget that kiss." Klaus whispered leaving her speechless, they were both not breathing anymore. After those moments he softly kissed her cheek. "Goodnight, Caroline." he said at the end before to take some steps back that led him to the door. When he turned they stopped contemplating each other's eyes. Klaus walked away and Caroline remained alone in that room where the broken lamp and the jewellery on the floor was the only evidence left of their fight.

* * *

**Hey, we hope you liked this chapter! We're writing the next one, there are going to be some very sweet moments between Klaus and Caroline and a new character is coming, guess who! Hints: It's not Tyler and it's not Hayley. We saw you were worried about their presence in this FF but there's nothing to worry about, none of them will be a love interest for Klaus or for Caroline, so no Forwood and no Klayley. Leave a review. :)**

**I & F**


	7. VII chapter

**Bad Blood** - _7th chapter_

Her aunt had told her everything, Davina knew about what happened to her cousin Caroline. One of the most dangerous criminal families of the city had taken her in order to give her in bride to one of the sons of Mikael Mikaelson, that name had been on every newspaper for a very long time. The young girl, she was just nineteen, wasn't worried as everyone else was in Caroline's family, after all they couldn't hurt her cousin, they had sworn it in their deal. She was still too naive to see the evil in people, she liked to believe the world was a beautiful place. She had also seen one of those Mikaelson boys once, somebody had told her it was Kol, the youngest. She had noticed how cute he was, so she imagined that even his brothers were handsome as he was. While she walked down the street in the French Quarter Davina kept thinking about him, she didn't expect him to remember about her, truth to be told she had never spoke to him. The first time her eyes met him they were both in the middle of a party, Kol was surrounded by girls who were - she thought - way more beautiful than her. He was that kind of guy her mother had warned her about. That morning Davina lied to her mother before leaving her house, she couldn't tell her she was going to knock to the Mikaelson's door to meet her cousin again. Perhaps she was too naive even to understand the true danger behind her decision. When she saw the big "M" outside the black gate she took a deep breath. _You're here. _She told herself. There was no turning back.

After a long night of sleep Kol could still feel the pain of the fight against his brother. He was sore all over. When he saw his reflection in the mirror he noticed the bruise under his eyes and the wound of his lower lip, even his abdomen was aching, he remembered very well Klaus' kicks. _Love hurts. _He thought sarcastically. To feel like that for a girl wasn't worth it, he was ready to give Klaus the wife he wanted, to get married so soon had never been in Kol's plans, yet he couldn't ignore the fact that he would have loved to fuck Caroline. He still hoped to fuck her, maybe right before her wedding. The house was pretty empty in the morning. When Kol went downstairs he saw Esther in the kitchen with Katherine, Nadia was eating breakfast and all the men were out for work. His mother immediately asked him how he was feeling, he liked being cuddled as a kid, he liked to be ill.

"My poor child." Esther whispered caressing Kol's hair while he sat in front to his niece. Nadia started throwing food at his uncle, they always played like that when nobody was watching. Kol laughed and he didn't waste a minute more before to throw some little pieces of his own breakfast too.

"Please, Kol! Don't teach her doing these things." Katherine scolded her brother in law. Kol smiled to Nadia, Nadia tried hard to hide her cunning smile.

"Don't listen to your mommy, she's evil." Kol whispered to his niece. The little girl smiled, she took a piece of food in her hand and she threw it at her mom. Katherine turned as she felt something against her back. She gave a deep and hateful glance to Kol and she slapped him behind his neck. "It wasn't me, it was your daughter!" He kept yelling making Nadia laugh. Katherine didn't mind to any of his words, she just didn't believe him. Suddenly somebody knocked to their door twice, Esther was too busy to care, she asked Kol to check. He stood up and he walked towards the entrance, he grabbed the baseball bat near to the doorway - it was useful when unappreciated guests showed up - and he opened the door. The girl he saw in front of him was definitely an appreciated guest. Kol took some moments to admire her very carefully, she was a small and beautiful brunette, her pretty dress suggested him she was also wealthy.

"Hey beauty, how can I help you?" He asked placing the bat on his shoulder. Davina couldn't believe she was right there, standing outside the Mikaelson's door. She had never had the chance to see Kol so closely, he was cute as she remembered. And his arms... well, he was wearing a tank top and his arms were pretty muscly.

"Hi! You don't know me, I'm Davina, Caroline's cousin... I brought her some things." She tried to not show her tension by hiding it behind a sweet smile, even if she felt a weird sensation in her stomach. Kol stayed still, he was still watching her with a soft smile on his face. At that point she thought he was pretty weird and creepy and... cute. "So... may I come in? I understand if I can't. I mean, I could just wait here for Caroline." She said.

"What? Of course you can come in, you're part of the family after all!" Kol laughed and he showed her the way to enter. Davina immediately felt better, she didn't want to be intrusive. She passed by Kol and she stopped breathing for a while, she could feel his eyes on her. Her hands kept very tightly the little bag she had brought for Caroline. As she got in the house she saw how beautiful everything was, she thought the family was really rich. Kol didn't stop watching her, not even for a while. Davina was fresh meat in a cage of lions. He placed his arm around her shoulder and he admired with her the refined design of his home. "You came here all alone, is your mommy aware of it?" He joked about her young age and Davina smiled.

"I had to tell some lies to get here." She replied trying to ignore Kol's arm around her. Davina wasn't used to that, she wasn't use to approach to guys, her school, of course, was a only girls school and her mother was very protective.

"This place has a bad reputation but we don't hurt pretty little girls." Kol said and Davina blushed.

"Oh... I'm lucky to have a pretty face, then." She joked as well.

"Come with me, I'm bringing you to your cousin." Kol invited her. She stayed behind him, she wasn't that confident to move freely in somebody else's house. As they got upstairs Kol started walking backwards to look at her, it was like he couldn't take his eyes off her. Davina blushed again and she watched the floor under her feet while she walked. "I'm Kol, by the way." He told her his name, keeping his smile on his lips.

"I know who you are, I saw you to a party once." She timidly admitted. Caroline heard the girl's voice from inside her room, at first she didn't believe it, then she heard the noise of walks getting closer and closer. The blonde smiled and she walked out in the hallway, as she saw her little cousin her smile got bigger. After all that time she could see a member of her family, someone who would have brought her back to the old reality.

"Davina!" Caroline shouted her name and the two of them ran to hug each other laughing. "You shouldn't be here!" She said again but Davina didn't mind that, she was happy to be there. Caroline's eyes stayed on Kol, her facial expression got sad at the memory of last night's events. Kol's face had the marks of the fight against Klaus and she felt sorry for that, she couldn't stop repeating herself it was all her fault. "I'm sorry, Kol." She whispered. Davina wondered why she was saying sorry to him.

"Why? Did you beat him?" She asked them making them laugh. "What? I know she could do that, I saw her punching a policeman once."

"Just a street fight. Five men against me." Kol replied, he lied just to appear cool to the girl's eyes. Caroline understood it and she didn't add a word. Davina seemed to be sorry too.

"Five? I'm sorry." She said. Caroline took the bag from Davina's hands to peek into it. "I brought you clothes and... wherever you need." Her cousin told her. "You have to tell me everything! I want to know _everything_!" She added and Caroline gave Kol a quick glance.

"Then we must be alone." She invited him to leave and Kol smiled while Caroline placed her hand on Davina's shoulder to push her inside her room. The brunette girl looked for the last time the youngest of the Mikaelson brothers and he did the same. She couldn't stop telling herself how handsome he was.

"C'mon, really? Why can't I chat with you girls? Caroline?" Kol tried to persuade the blonde and, in response, she closed the door right in front to his face. His smile slowly faded away while he found himself thinking about Davina. He wouldn't have forgotten the beauty of that new young girl any soon. Caroline stayed with her cousin all the morning long until lunch time, they both told each other everything they didn't tell before. They were really close friends and not even the Mikaelsons could put a distance between them. Davina asked her about Klaus and Caroline blushed when she asked her if they had already kissed. She revealed her the truth: they hadn't kissed yet.

* * *

_Good morning sweetheart, I won't be home for dinner. I'm watching you._

Klaus left that note on Caroline's pillow while she was sleeping right before to leave home in the morning. Him and Elijah went with their father as usual, Mikael had a meeting place, it was his bar at a corner of the French Quarter. Everything was legal there; alcohol, drugs, lust. He stayed there smoking and drinking while the men who worked for him followed his commands. That day he ordered to his two sons to spy a member of the Lockwood family, Tyler Lockwood, the only son of Richard. Elijah drove until the end of the city, near the Bayou, where the Lockwood mansion was. They saw Tyler with that Mason, his uncle, he never left the nephew alone. Klaus didn't know what Mikael had in mind, but he knew he had something, otherwise he would have not send him and Elijah there to play hide and seek with the two Lockwood dogs. They kept their eyes on them to make sure their business weren't a problem for the family, at the end of the day Mason and Tyler ended up in a whorehouse outside the French Quarter, they weren't allowed to enter in the Mikaelson's territory.

"Wasn't Tyler Lockwood married?" Klaus asked to his brother watching the street from the window of the car.

"He still is, Hayley Marshall is his wife. Some men can't appreciate what they have, so they look for prostitutes knowing they'll give them what their wives don't." Elijah replied and Klaus looked at him smiling cunningly.

"Does Katherine give you everything?" He asked. Elijah took some moments before to give him an answer. He wasn't comfortable speaking of certain of things, not even with his brother.

"Yes." Klaus was still suspicious, he didn't like Katerina at all.

"It must be hard after all these years. Do you fuck with her?" He asked again. Elijah sighed and he kept driving. "I mean you have a child, how can you fuck with a child in your same room?" He laughed watching his brother's face.

"I'm not going to tell you if I have sex with my wife." He responded.

"You should have a brother who is boring as you are, just to understand how boring you are." Klaus said, annoyed by Elijah's composure.

"We should play a game just to break the boredom." Elijah proposed keeping his eyes on the road.

"What game?" His brother asked, confused. Elijah wasn't a game person.

"You get out of my car and start running trying to chase me while I drive." He smiled, Klaus didn't do the same, he kept himself silent until they get to the bar where Mikael was waiting for them. They sat around his table, after they told him everything they knew about Tyler Elijah checked out the clock and he realized he was just in time, he was going out with Katherine for dinner and then to the opera, just like the old times. His father wished him a good night and Klaus' eyes stayed on the cigar he held in his fingers.

"You look thoughtful, Niklaus. How are the love affairs proceeding?" Mikael broke the silence between them. "Your mother told me everything, of course." He added making his son smile. Esther had told his husband about Klaus' and Caroline's fight, of course. That woman couldn't keep her mouth shut.

"Then why are you asking?" Klaus was sarcastic.

"I'd like to know your thoughts about the girl. We both know she is not obedient, is she at least beautiful enough for you?" Mikael kept asking while the bourbon in his glass was about to finish.

"You didn't marry an obedient woman." His son spoke while his eyes followed the smoke of the cigar that floated in the air.

"And I regret that everyday." Mikael laughed loudly making Klaus laugh too, he knew his mother wasn't easy to command, she wasn't an easy wife. He was the result of his adultery, that was a big proof.

"I will do what needs to be done, you don't have to worry about that." Klaus assured. His father - or the man who believed to be so - nodded smiling. They both knew what needed to be done, Klaus knew he had to give Mikael a male heir, but first he had to marry a woman and that woman was Caroline. He wanted to gain Mikael's trust in order to get everything he had after his death, in order to get the power he had always wanted. Without a wife and without a son he would have just stayed the second born child of a criminal, and also a bastard.

"From now on Caroline has my permission to leave the house in your company, _just_ with you. If she'll try to escape, if she'll accidentally succeed in escaping, you'll pay the consequences of her actions on your own skin." Mikael warned him and Klaus smiled softly.

"She won't go anywhere." He replied, then he drank some bourbon from his glass and he stood up, ready to leave. "I'm late, I told her I was going to get home after dinner." Mikael laughed and he raised his arms up.

"Welcome to married life." He found it funny, he had never imagined Klaus as a husband and now he was saying no to bourbon for a woman.

"You should come back home too, mom is not happy knowing that you are in a place full of whores." Klaus suggested him. Mikael ignored his words, he wanted to stay there to drink a bit more with a bunch of friends. As his son left the table some men sat there and replaced him, they were friends, they were all friends in the French Quarter, or at least most of them.

* * *

When Caroline came across Katherine she immediately understood the brunette wanted to ask her for a favor. Elijah's wife was wearing a fine black dress and dinner time was over, her make up and her hair suggested she was going somewhere. When Caroline asked her what was going on Katherine replied saying that Elijah had planned a romantic date for her and she asked Caroline if she could keep Nadia with her during her absence. She trusted her, even if they barely knew each other Katherine saw a friend in Caroline and the feeling was mutual. Caroline accepted, the time passed slowly in that house during the day and being with Nadia seemed to be a good way to have some fun. They watched Katherine and Elijah leaving the house, Caroline held the child in her arms while she said bye to her parents by moving her hand in the air.

"Say bye to mommy and daddy." The blonde girl whispered. The child said a soft _Bye_ and as one of the guards closed the black gate of the garden she pointed a finger to the ground, so Caroline let her walk around. "Where are you going?" She asked with a sweet smile on her lips. Nadia laughed and she took her hand.

"I want to play hide and seek!" The little girl told Caroline, sometimes it was hard to understand her words, after all she was just two, but Caroline had already spent enough time with her, she knew her, so understanding was easier.

"You want to play hide and seek?" Caroline asked again and Nadia nodded. Their eyes stopped on the black gate as a guard opened it again and another car, black but different from Elijah's one, got in the garden.

"Uncle Klaus!" Nadia shouted before her uncle could get out of his car. Caroline felt a sensation that warmed up her heart when she saw him, she realized that she had been waiting for him the whole day. She had read the message he had left on her bed, she liked the idea that he had thought about her before leaving for his criminal affairs. Nadia ran to hug Klaus, Caroline smiled.

"Be careful!" She said to the little girl, she didn't want her to fall to the ground. Klaus took her niece in his arms and he made her laugh, then he left a kiss on her soft cheek.

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her, Nadia pointed her finger at Caroline.

"I play with Caroline!" She replied, then she shook her legs to tell his uncle to put her back on the ground and so he did. Nadia took him by his hand to bring him to Caroline, Klaus smiled to her and she smiled back blushing.

"I see you two became friends." He said.

"We are friends." Caroline gave a look to the little Nadia that hid herself behind her legs.

"And tell me... May I play with you?" Klaus asked to the two of them. Caroline's smile got larger hearing those words, then she caressed Nadia's hair.

"What do you think, Nadia? Can uncle Klaus play with us?" She asked, so Nadia put a finger on her mouth and she started thinking.

"Just girls can play with us!" She decided. Sometimes, when it came to giving orders, she looked exactly like her mother.

"What? I've never heard of this rule." Klaus answered back.

"We should turn him into a girl, does it sound good to you?" Caroline proposed to the little girl. Klaus gave her a confuse look, he didn't want to be turned into a girl in front to the eyes of his future wife, he was sure he would have lost all his virility.

"We... we use mommy's make up!" Nadia said and Caroline laughed watching Klaus' face.

"Sounds great!" She said sharing a cunning glance with Nadia.

"Don't even think about that." Klaus shook his head and Nadia took his hand to guide him in the house, the two girls ignored his words. "I said I wanted to play with you, I didn't say I wanted to become the toy." He kept talking, even though he wasn't totally unwilling to wear some make up, after all it was for a good cause: spending time with Caroline.

"We use mommy's make up!" Nadia couldn't keep herself from shouting while she climbed the stairs step by step, Klaus and Caroline were right behind her to make sure she didn't fall.

"Come with me, mommy's make up is in my room." Caroline took the child's hand to guide her, Nadia easily believed that Katherine's things were in Caroline's room, so she followed her. Klaus looked around himself and he obeyed to his niece as she told him to sit on the floor, where she would have reached him to put make up on his face. Caroline took from her beauty case a lipstick, some powder and a black eyeliner.

"Here we go." The blonde girl sat by her side and Nadia's eyes got brighter, she immediately took the lipstick in her hand.

"You know what to do with that?" Klaus asked, the child thought about it for a few moments.

"This is the lipstick that... that I put on the lips!" Nadia touched her mouth and Klaus and Caroline laughed, the little girl looked for Caroline to get her approval. To her she was like one of the beautiful princesses of the tales their parents told her, she was blonde and her eyes were blue, just like the eyes of the princesses. She waited for Caroline to tell her that the answer was right before to put the red lipstick on her uncle's lips. Caroline started laughing softly and, at the end, Klaus took the little mirror to watch his reflection.

"Hey, you're quite good sweetheart! Now let me show you something..." He took her niece and he kissed her cheek to leave a red mark on it, then he gave the mirror to her to let her see it and at first she appeared confused and amazed, then she laughed.

"Uncle Klaus! Don't be naughty!" She scolded him before to take the powder puff and cover Klaus skin of a light shade of make up.

"Auntie Caroline is leaving to you all the hard work." He said making Nadia smile.

"You like auntie Caroline." She answered. Caroline's lips opened in surprise, she thought that Nadia was way too smart for her age. She didn't say a word, she stayed silent thinking about the way Klaus had just called her. _Auntie Caroline._ She felt happy, inexplicably happy. As the time passed she stopped feeling guilty for the beautiful sensations she felt in that home, she was slowly accepting the fate that somebody else had chosen for her. The idea of being a prisoner of the Mikaelson family was being replaced by the idea of being in the family.

"You're right, I do. Do you think she likes me?" Klaus asked for Nadia's opinion and Caroline felt again the warmth in her heart, then she stayed on her knees and she took the eyeliner to draw a soft line around Klaus' blue eye. She placed her hand on his face, when she finished the two of them shared a deep glance and Nadia tried to hide her little and cunning smile.

"You and auntie Caroline are like mommy and daddy?" She asked breaking that tension. None of them gave an answer to that innocent question. Caroline saw her yawning and she smiled.

"Hey, it's bed time. Do you wanna hear a lullaby?" Nadia nodded and her aunt lifted her up to bring her in bed, the little girl put her thumb in her mouth and she stayed quiet to listen to Caroline's voice that started singing a sweet and slow melody. Klaus was still sitting on the floor, his eyes were enchanted by the beauty of that image. He loved Caroline's gentleness, he could see her taking care of the child he was going to give her after their wedding. Even though everything was happening way too fast he hoped she didn't despise the idea of being a mother. In that moment he realized he had never thought about fatherhood before, he had always seen the whole thing as an order, something that needed to be done to reach a second aim; power. He had heard somebody saying that parents were part of their children, he had never known his true father and that lack was the main cause of his interior struggle. There were too many questions with no answer.

"Uncle Klaus?" Nadia extended her arms towards him, she wanted him to lay by her side, just like Caroline was doing. Klaus walked towards the bed and he took off the shoes from Nadia's little feet. He placed his head against the pillow of Caroline's bed and his niece got closer to him to feel safe. She fell asleep under the notes of the sweet lullaby.

"She's my first and only niece. I would have never imagined that a child, someone so small and fragile, could mean so much to me." Klaus whispered to Caroline while his hand caressed Nadia's cheek. The blonde girl smiled softly, Klaus liked to show no mercy, to be fearless, but she knew there was a deep and good humanity hidden inside of him. "You're good with kids. Do you have any brother or sister?" He asked.

"I don't, actually I think it's just my instinct." Caroline replied watching Klaus' eyes. The light was soft in the room, it came from the little lamp near to the bed. She couldn't help herself from laughing as she saw the red lipstick still on his lips. "Don't move." She said grabbing an hanky.

"What? Why are you laughing?" He asked again smiling confused by her actions. She got closer to him even though Nadia was still in the middle of the bed. Caroline passed the hanky on his mouth and she admired it, it looked soft. She felt her heart skipping a beat, the desire of kissing him got stronger and stronger. She pressed her lips against his, Klaus closed his eyes and he left the control in her hands, he was unable to think, he was unable to move and to speak. That was an unpredictable choice for an unpredictable girl. Just after a few moments, right when the both of them realized what they were doing, Caroline caressed Klaus' face and Nadia cried in her sleep. The child's voice made Caroline immediately come back to her place and start staring at the ceiling. She regretted everything she did. _Stupid, stupid!_ She insulted herself.

"Shh, sleep." Klaus whispered to his niece.

"You are good too. I mean... with kids. You are good with kids." Caroline tried to avoid the topic of the kiss, the whole situation was getting to awkward for her and Klaus was starting to enjoy her embarrassment.

"I'm also a good kisser, by the way." He said smiling. Caroline hated that smile, she hated the fact that she liked it way too much. She avoided his look until Klaus took her chin in his hand. "Don't hide." He whispered forcing her to look at him. "You know, my father gave me some good news for you, good news that I will tell you in exchange for something..." He kept talking getting Caroline's attention and curiosity. "Another kiss, perhaps." He never missed a chance to show he was a cunning bastard.

"Klaus Mikaelson... is an extortion the one I just heard?" Caroline got closer to him again, maybe too close to his lips.

"Maybe it is." He answered back.

"First you kidnap me, then you threaten me, and now... now you want to manipulate me." She whispered. The distance between them became shorter and shorter, Klaus closed his eyes and Caroline smiled as she watched him in all his arrogance. "You won't have another kiss, not tonight." She felt powerful as she spoke those words, right before to return on her side of the bed. Klaus opened his eyes again, he couldn't hide the fact that he was charmed by her snobbish attitude, so he smiled.

"Not tonight? Not even an innocent and pure kiss on my cheek?" He tried to persuade her and Caroline rolled her eyes ignoring his request.

"You should tell me the good news. After all I still have to forgive you." She said.

"A deal is a deal, love. You don't kiss me, I keep my mouth shut. Your pretty little face won't be enough to make me change my mind." He replied. Caroline didn't add another word, the two of them watched in each other's eyes until Caroline felt tired enough and her eyelids got heavier and heavier. "You should sleep, sweetheart." He told her. She slowly closed her eyes, her breath was soft in the silence of the room. She fell asleep while Klaus captured in his mind every detail of her beautiful face. Sometimes he hated the emptiness of his own bed, that night he realized that what he wanted was right there: he wanted Caroline and he wanted a family, _their_ family. He slept too, when Katherine got in the room to take Nadia back in her crib she thanked Klaus who woke up feeling the child moving in the bed, he wished Katherine a goodnight before to get closer to Caroline's body. The girl placed her head on his shoulder and her hand on his chest. Klaus' arm surround her body, he was her shelter. They slept together and for the first time the emptiness of their beds didn't torment their dreams.

* * *

**We hope you enjoyed your reading! The new character is Davina, what do you think about her? We tried to give you a sweet Klaroline moment, they needed it to understand what to expect from the future they're planning to live together. The next chapter will be filled with Klaroline as well. :) Leave your comments and/or questions in the reviews! xoxo**

**I & F **


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